Construction = Mess

From Easter Egg Hunt 2009

This is not construction that we are doing. If you look carefully at Kyle’s photos of our road, you will realize that it is no longer an asphalt road, but only mud. The city made the decision to replace the water and sewer pipes and then replace the asphalt with a new concrete road.

They started with the utilities at the end of January. That work is now done, and it wasn’t too bad for us. We had only a few small holes dug in our yard rather than a trench across the entire yard as the neighbors across the street had to endure. Josh and Paul enjoyed watching the tractors and machines at work and up-close, so I humored them and spent hours watching the boys watch the work. The interruptions in water service were also only a minor inconvenience and short-lived. After a couple weeks, the bad taste from the new water pipes even went away.

Now comes the new road. Right now the asphalt has been removed, leaving us with a dirt road. For a few days, that was just bumpy to drive on, and Brittany and Megan enjoyed riding their bikes over the ruts. Then Saturday night it rained. It was a good, long soaking rain, which we really needed. But it left a road that was complete mud. I was glad Kyle drove to church yesterday. I’m never quite sure what I’m going to find when I open the garage with the hope to drive somewhere. I might have to dodge tractors and trucks, which I am learning the names for (since my boys are very interested in these things). I feel that I have to warn anyone coming to my house of the hazards, but I’m never quite sure exactly what to warn them of. There were will be several 7 week periods (for the curing of concrete) when I will not be able to access my driveway (or park on the road). That will be a challenge, with 3 children not in school, and 2 children who must be taken to and picked up from school every day, plus piano lessons and baseball practice, and library story time and playgroup, and whatever else needs to be done that week. We will get a lot of exercise as we walk back and forth to the van.

Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it. At least there will be a nice smooth concrete road in 2 or 3 months.