Today is absolutely wonderful! The house is quiet. There is no angle grinding of bricks outside or clouds of red dust in the air. The paving is done, but it was not without hiccups. The company (small informal company with an owner, a foreman and 8 workers) took 7 full days instead of 5. All was going very well until they put on the compactor after they had laid the bricks. A whole section sank! It had to be pulled up, the ground beneath reinforced and put back together again. The final result was not entirely level, but as it is an area where there is very little traffic we let it go. They said they would finish yesterday. It took the entire day and by 6pm they had only just finished. They did a bit of a clean up but left two areas below the bank covered in a mixture of sand and cement. It was very messy. Mike was not home to see the them leave. I made the final payment to them and I mentioned I didn’t think Mike was going to be all that happy with those patches, but the owner played it all down with “oh you just have to run the hose over it!”
Mike came home and indeed he was not wildly impressed. To my horror, Mike said we could not leave it because the cement was going to harden over the area. We had to wash the bricks off immediately.
I was so ticked off.
Mike got into his overalls and started washing down the area while I swept, then we swapped. On and on it went – almost two hours. Eventually around 8-30pm, we called it a day.
When we took a break I expressed my irritation. I said these situations bring out the worst in me – it’s something I really don’t want to do…I hate getting my hands dirty so it’s no fun for me. But, if I don’t pitch in and help, I feel guilty. So I can’t win.
I’ve just got to get on with it. Mike is amazing. He’s such a good supervisor and he is so patient. As I watched him sweep the bricks clean, I wondered if this was what a good marriage is all about. Maybe, despite my complaints, it was bringing out the best in me. I was there outside with him, offering some support, finishing the project at his side. Despite my lack of joy in cleaning up mud, I was glad I did. I don’t know why he had a hat on!
And today in the bright light of morning on a majestic spring day in Cape Town, it all looked not so bad.
This was before…
What a difference!!!
It was all worth it.
Isn’t that often the case?
Proverbs 14:23
In all toil there is profit…
Another tick on the home renovation to-do list.
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂