Today was frustrating, and I spent a lot of it being angry. This is an unfortunate character flaw of mine – being quick to anger. Time and self-reflection always helps me put things into perspective.
I heard this quote on the radio some time ago, and it often comes to mind when I’ve overreacted to something.
All frustration in life is wrought from unmet expectations.
My expectation when I arrived at the house a bit before 10am this morning was that the painters would be there getting the first coat on the walls. They were not.
My expectation was that the two textured bedrooms would be sanded, mudded, and fully prepped for painting. They were not.
My expectation was that the painters would show up sometime in the 3 hours I was at the house waiting for/working with the Comcast guy. They did not.
My expectation was that the painters would show up between 1 and 2pm, which is the timeframe the office gave me after Josh and I both called, were both put on hold, and finally got some information. They did not.
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The painters did show up between 3:30 and 4pm. Josh met them on his way home and talked to the crew leader. Apparently the plan was to work from the late afternoon until 9pm tonight. Josh communicated our concerns about getting the job fully finished and cleaned up by Friday since we are moving on Saturday, and he said no problem. He said they would be able to get 2 coats on the foyer today and have it finished this evening. All in all, everything was fine and is fine, and there was no reason for me to be angry or frustrated. So why did I?
I assumed the painters would start in the morning or early afternoon. It turns out the re-mudding they did last night needed longer to dry, which is the reason they started later.
I assumed the painters wouldn’t be able to finish by Friday if they didn’t get started this morning. They say it’s no problem, so I’m hoping that’s true.
I assumed the painters would show up between 1 and 2pm because the office told me they would. This I feel is a legitimate reason for frustration since it clearly wasn’t accurate information, but once you consider the point above, it’s not that big of a deal.
I didn’t have time to go to the house and back again this evening, so the fun photo updates will have to wait another day or two.
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Now for the things that went well today.
I met the Comcast guy this afternoon and had a productive unpacking session while waiting for him. The kitchen is now 75% moved to the new place.
The Comcast guy was great. I showed him the closet full of wires (below), and he was able to sort it out and get a signal running. We now have wifi! As long as I bring the modem and router back and forth, I can work from either house now. This makes for less stressful trips to the house for the next couple of days.
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Josh scheduled another chimney company to come out today as well. This quote was only 3 times as expensive instead of 4 times, so it turns out our roofer was incorrect in his guesstimate (there are those pesky expectations again). Our chimney pan and shroud instead of a normal chimney cap, so the part has to be custom made, which is why it’s so much more expensive than expected. But – we can’t have our chimney leaking, so we are getting it fixed. The crew tarped the chimney while we are waiting on the custom parts, so there won’t be more leaks.
Two more days until the move, and two more days of formal renovations. “One more ‘til one more.”
Sara Morrison 