a pup after my own heart, sweetie boy waits as long as he can before he gets up to go outside for his morning pee. he loves his slow starts with coffee + cuddles and soaks up every second of them. I'm always right there with him embracing our kapha energy. but this morning was different.
I skipped my usual morning routine, instead, layering on a bit more clothes for the chilly, end of summer morning weather. I filled my to-go cup with fresh brewed coffee and headed to the property to watch the first of several pours for our barn floors. bob was out of town for this phase and I have to laugh because, yet again, things were timed beautifully on our barn build despite me wanting it to be different.
the handprint dilemma
here's the thing. I really, really was looking forward to putting our hands in the concrete when it was poured. silly? maybe. but it was a big deal to me. Ben and his guys were doing the pours on four different days and Bob was scheduled to be out of town for all of them. I was so upset about this there were actually a few nights that I had a hard time sleeping because I was trying to figure out how to make this happen. Bob did not have the same experience...
I never solved the problem of how to get Bob's handprints into the concrete without him being physically present but we had a couple of delays that pushed the pours back to a time that Bob would be in town.
those sleepless nights turned out to be wasted, per usual, and I got another real life experience to trust the process...even when its bumpy.
the plumbing delay
Bob is my rule follwer and so we've been doing everything by the books on this build. turns out our township is one that's stuck in 'let's not make rational sense' mode. I can't express enough how grateful I am that Bob handled the permitting situation. his brain is amazing with rules, 'what if' scenarios and looking at a situation from the most unique perspectives. he thinks he's not creative but I beg to differ. his creativity thrives and shines when it comes to problem solving. he's the best partner to have...in an escape room challenge...and in life...lucky me 🤍
once Bob handled the permitting situation we were able to have the plumbing installed which had to be done prior to the concrete being poured. although we may not finish the inside of the barn for a while, the plumber, Andy, needed to know where to install drain lines down to the inch. this is yet another time that working with Bre was so crucial in our build. because of the fully finished vision she had created I was able to know exactly where the plumber needed to put things. having these plans has made this barn build a more pleasurable experience in a multitude of ways and I don't even want to imagine this process without them.
the main water line
another little hiccup for getting the floors poured was having a main water line installed. the issue here was dollars and time. the quotes were a little high for us and even so would have pushed the project back even further.
one Sunday we randomly decided to do it ourselves. again it all worked out great because that weekend my dad happened to be up visiting. he does this kind of work for living and when we were at breakfast he said "well why don't we just get this done today". so
while I finished my chicken and waffles sandwich [with pepper jack cheese...mmm] Bob and my dad made a list of materials we would need. we paid our bill and headed to Menards.
one of the really cool things about living in a little lake community is how wonderful our neighbors are. whenever someone is working on a project there's always helping hands eager to join in. this proejct was no different. not long after we started digging for a 18 foot long by 4 foot wide trench, a few friends showed up to help. this was clutch because we didn't have the ideal tools and so this part kinda really sucked. thanks Chaz + Jim + dad. after four hours we were packing up our tools and thrilled to have the water line installed.
the big pour
Ben, our builder and his team, Austin + Joey, did the three smaller pours for our floors. they prepped the last pour with the lines for the heated floors and then subbed it out to a bigger crew. because of the plumbing sitch, and getting on another crew's schedule, the last pour was pushed back a bit. it landed beautifully during a time that Bob was home and now there was no way he could get out of putting his handprint in the concrete.
floor tour by forrest
the meaning in building
some people find it in travel, others find it in their career or in raising kiddos but I find my meaning in doing projects. when I'm creating or building something my brain can think about whatever it wants to, at a million miles a second, yet I'm not attached to much of it. its this beautiful flow zone where I'm able to sort through my thoughts and ideas with such ease and intuivelty gravitate towards the ones that are going to be most beneficial for my growth.
I tend to get some foundational life lessons in doing projects and this barn build project has been no different. actually, it has been a little different in that I'm not the one doing the building which has given me more opportunties to let go of the thoughts that aren't helping me or the situation...like the handprints. am I successful with each attempt? not always. but I definitely get the practice.
for me, it's about the intention of being present and aware more often than not in order to be able to zoom out. when I zoom out I'm more apt to recognize there might be a life lesson trying to come into play. especially when things are not going how I thought they 'should', this intention in finding the meaning really helps to calm and ground me and put me back on the path of flow verse force...and that's a beautiful life for me.
up next will be getting the siding, windows and doors installed...all black everything.
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