There are
two things that scare me, when it comes to
renovations.
Cement, and electricity.
We've been
renovating homes for well over 20 years.
No biggie.
On a perfectly
peaceful fall morning last week, we decided that it was time to fix the stair.
That would
involve concrete, and my
anxiety level started rising.
I mean, concrete.... that's serious stuff. It is what foundations, and sidewalks, and roads, and hospitals are made with!!
Once you remove the concrete, then stuff collapses... right??!!
Whenever we have had to do electrical, or concrete on past renovation jobs, I leave.
I scram.
Me? No where to be seen. I'll be back after the electrician, or cement truck leaves.
This
stair had
cracked and separated from the other stairs.
Once upon a time, someone had run a rain gutter drain under the stairs. Good in theory... but not in practice. Even with the heating element wire that ran through the drain tube, there was at one time an ice build up, heaving and cracking of cement.
We
knew this would need to be repaired, when we bought Mill Hill Meadow.
We
put it on the list, and planned to
get it done before the first snow fall.
OK. So, it's November, and the first snow fall could happen at any time.
**Called the contractor, ordered the concrete, and bust out the broken step and landing.
Spencer {our youngest son} and my Sweet husband, and our daughter did just that.
Me???
I hid in the house.
I had fears and visions of the entire porch falling off the house.
There was such a void under that stair, that I felt certain that ALL the stairs were going to fall off the porch.
Then, maybe the porch would crack, and we'd have to replace it.... so forth, and so on.
Yep.. I managed to get myself in a twist!
The back-fill required 9 bags of gravel..etc..
The contractor was scheduled to frame up the step and landing the very same day that the stair and landing were torn out.
It was supposed to be a 1 1/2 day to 2 day job.... max.
Sadly, the contractor got drug and kicked by his horse. He is lucky he didn't break anything, or worse.
Still... it put him down for a couple days.
So...
two days after the demo, then the forms went up.
Of course I felt terrible about the contractors accident, but I
almost felt worse for myself.
I had nightmare after nightmare about our house falling down, or the porch falling off.
Finally!!
Finally, the cement was poured.
New step, new landing.
No crack.
No snow yet either..... thank heavens.
I do not consider myself prone to panic..... except in cases of cement work, or worse even.... electrical work.
After all, no one wants an incident of a falling down house, or an electrical fire, or an electrocution.
OK.... so maybe that's a bit dramatic.....
New day.
All is well in the world. The sun still came up the next morning.
We all have those little fears that trigger us. It's not a health scare that is my trigger.....any more.... been there, done that, with Brooke's kidney transplant.
For me, it is certainty. If I am not 100% sure about something, I vapor lock.
I'm sorry.
I'm working on it.
I'm learning how to do the best I can, and not sweat the small stuff.
Attitude of gratitude:
*I'm grateful for each day. It may sound small... but each day really is a wonderful blessing.
*I'm grateful for chocolate pie.
*I'm grateful for good books. This time of year is wonderful for me... piles of wonderful books, just waiting to be read.
