Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Re-build

I am going to be honest and admit that not everything went smoothly during the re-building process.  But what does ever go swimmingly when you do any kind of construction, re-modeling, or heck, even room painting?  However, for the most part we were very fortunate to have some pretty talented and hardworking crews on our job site, and because we didn't have a contractor overseeing the complete re-build, it fell to us to make every decision, hire every tradesman, correct every mistake made and most importantly stay within the budget.  Of course we had insurance money, but as is usually the way, not enough to hire someone to handle the day to day operations and still have enough to re- build the house we had.  So we opted to be the owner/builders and hoped that we wouldn't make too many mistakes and trusted that our construction teams would come through for us.  And believe it or not, they did!!  Oh sure, we did have a couple of real amateurs, and some work was a little sub-par, but for the most part everyone rose to the task at hand and we weren't over charged too very often (I hope).
    Living on a construction site can be quite challenging yet very interesting.  You get to meet a lot of colorful characters and learn quite a bit about concrete, framing, roof structure, insulation, drywall textures and a myriad of other factors that go into building a house.  And the view out your window changes daily depending on which trade is working, such as huge cement trucks, monster fork lifts moving lumber, delivery semi's, the porta potty and of course everyone's pick-up, which is usually white.  Most days everyone arrives before seven AM and works straight through until 12:30 or 1:00 PM and then the site goes quiet.  Wonderful aromas start wafting through the air as the workers set up small cook stoves and begin stir frying their favorite meats along with peppers, chilies and delicious spices.  Large ice chests are opened up and foreign labeled drinks are quickly downed.  Once lunch is consumed, they all find a shady or cool spot to lie and then proceed to siesta for about an hour.  Some fellows call home, chat with girlfriends, or listen to music, but most usually sleep in hopes of recharging for the afternoon shift.
     And so it went for fourteen months, one phase after the other, one crew after the other, and slowly but surely the house began to take shape and our optimism grew along with it.  Thank goodness for our mobile home as we celebrated two Christmases in it, Alex's six months admission and subsequent graduation from the Sheriff's academy, a violent winter storm which included heavy winds, rain and flooding, Matt's and John's birthdays and the multitude of family and friends who visited us, ate with us and lifted our spirits right there in the middle of a construction zone!!  We had more company and more fun than we had in a very long time, just being together in such cramped quarters was hilarious and the little kids loved being right in the middle of it all.  They all thought it was such a treat to camp out on the living room floor and be under foot in the midst of complete but happy chaos.




     And here we are, almost four years later looking back on what was a very difficult chapter of our lives.  We have a completely new and completely different home, all new furniture, pets, clothing, boat, and surroundings.  It is now hard to remember everything that we used to have and we determine events as pre or post the fire.  But what is most troubling is that all of our children's baby pictures are gone, their school and graduation photos, Ryan's little curl from his first haircut and the handmade Christmas ornaments their then little boy hands created so many years ago.  But we are all still together, stronger, much more appreciative of everything that life has to offer and certain that we can over come most great obstacles.  We have been supported by our family and friends and will never forget how much they helped us.  We are making new memories now and will soon be hosting another son's wedding at our new house.  We are also venturing into a new direction and utilizing our new home as a base for My French Farm which is going to be the place where us girls get together to share our support, talents, creativity, fresh citrus and decorating addictions.  We are in the process of assembling a collection of beautiful, interesting and unique items that we love and want to share with those that appreciate life's adventures and the bumpy road that goes with it.  Please follow My French Farm blog for dates and time of our barn sale which is coming soon!  Come celebrate a new beginning with us we are looking forward to it!

No comments:

Post a Comment