Do your blessings ever come looking like this? All disguised? They come waltzing in to your life and you think for a minute, you might recognize them but then they don't turn out like you really want and they make you uncomfortable and maybe push you out of your comfort zone. You really decide that you don't really like this waltzing thing but there is no way to get it out of your life since it's come in. A little time goes by though and then you realize that you were right on your first impression and that this really is a blessing because now it's finally taken off it's disguise, and you are thinking well that wasn't what I expected but it wasn't too bad and I learned a lot and grew a some, so this was a good blessing in disguise.
I have had a few of those. The whole basement project has turned out to be one after another after another of them. This last one has sort of put me over the edge, but is luckily being resolved quickly. You see I have decided that I need to be a better finisher in life and complete more projects so the first part of the month I made the goal to work or get the skilled professionals I needed to work, to get the basement to the point we could get sheet rock. If the sheet rock wasn't on the walls then at least be ready for it by the end of the month.
I have tried and done my best and I even had the insulation guy scheduled for yesterday but had to put him off after finding out last Thursday that it would be in our best interest to have all the drain/ sewer pipes under our house replaced. This came about because the week before that our kitchen drain clogged up really good and my brother-in-law had to come fix it by snaking it. He was worried though because it wasn't easy to snake. This lead to having a former coworker of his coming to look at our lines with a camera, and then jetting them out, and looking at them again. Which is what happen last Thursday. What he saw wasn't horrible but wasn't great at the same time. He told us if it was his house he would fix the lines before we went any farther. The kitchen drain had obstructions in in so he couldn't get a good look at it and couldn't really jet it and then there where a few trouble spots along the main line. SO we decided to just bite the bullet and do it.
My dad is great and was feeling well and came and worked Saturday, breaking up the concrete and finding all the lines on the north half of the house and then Monday I was feeling guilty for not doing anything, besides being frustrated so I worked and broke up the concrete on the south side of the house. My hands are still sore from the sledge hammer and jack hammer. Glen helped dig out dirt and tunnel where it was best to leave the concrete.
Today everything worked out and my brothers were able to come work with a mini excavator and dig up the front yard to find the pipe where it went out of the house. We also hired the company my brother-in-law works for and they came and took out all the pipes and put in the new ones in. So tonight we have all new pipes and the dirt piles are gone from our basement floor and tomorrow my brothers are coming back to fix the concrete! And the trench that was in the front yard is already back filled.
I know this will be a good thing because we won't have to worry about these pipes for hopefully a long time and we didn't have to rip up new carpet or flooring because we had a back up or a leak or something. We got to make the decision to prevent the problem, which I guess we should have done sooner. (If I were ever to write a book, it would be about what order not to do your basement remodel in.) Though this has only put things back a week it has helped me realize and take a better look at the great big blessings I have in my life all the time that I seem to gloss over. I have mentioned to a few people that I wish some of my blessings weren't so disguised but maybe it is the disguised ones that look a lot like trials, disappointments, setbacks , heart breaks and what not, that really help us see the ones we have so blatantly in front of us? They help remind us of the bigger picture and that Someone else has control over things and even though we don't always think so, has our back, and BEST interest in mind.
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