Haven't blogged for a while as have had builders in. Sooo exciting!
We could finally insulate the fridge we refer to fondly as home.
Also retaining walls, so can access veggie garden without crampons, and other general repairs to stop rotten bits are falling off carport onto visitors.
Builder started 3 weeks ago. Half the house is in bits, teenage daughter living in garage in tent, hallway and 3 rooms gutted, dust and dirt everywhere - me trying to work in mess and noise.
Progress slow.
Serious concerns arose last week when Gib went up. Much tension- finally we called assessor in and all work halted.
Assessment says everything has been done wrong - thousands of dollars already spent. Builder incompetent. Retaining has to be removed and re done, all interior work has to be re done - sigh.
Was very upset - depressed, and stressed, as also have dodgy tooth thing going on - never one thing at a time!
Had visit from new - lovely highly recommended builder who came to NZ as refugee from Cambodia. In course of looking at sorry mess that is our house, he told his story.
When 8 years old whole village was force marched to killing fields - told they'd be executed ...mass graves ... only just saved from execution by arrival of Vietnamese Tanks...
Decided then and there not to cry about my broken house. Have never had to march my children to anything worse than dentist appointment!
Is only house and am lucky to have one. We have roof -(OK - not many walls -but that can be fixed). We have freedom and we have food in cupboard. Also now have sense of perspective. While there are some things that even cake cant fix, it could be a lot worse.
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awesome Sophie. Thanks for sharing that. There are times when a slight adjustment in our perspective is needed. Journeys like his one help us realise that we haven't got it bad at all here in NZ. We're blessed. Cake and all!
ReplyDeleteYay for re-aligning perspectives! I love how God allows our paradigms to shift at the perfect moment. Hope you are managing to stay warm enough in the autumn chill with half a house. Big ups to your daughter btw, long term tenting in the garage requires a certain admirable talent.
ReplyDeleteSomeone always shows us something to make us stop and think about something else, and when we do our problem never seems quite so big afterwards
ReplyDeleteSo sorry that things have been so stressful lately. Sounds like a bit of nightmare that would keep you awake worrying about it.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, when you see the bigger picture, and how much worse it could be, you do get a sense of gratitude don't you. I also feel a little embarrassed that I have been so caught up in myself to miss my blessings.
I wonder if you go through something as horrific as your builder went through, whether you see the world in a different light...and whether you are more aware of your blessings...