Taking a toll

   A couple of weeks ago, a document was floating around the Mill site where I work. The document gave a comparison based on US statistics showing average age of retirement versus average age of death. The document showed that for every year worked after age 58 the average age of death accelerated by 3 years. After the last month, I believe it.

   It has been an unbelievably difficult month. It started several weeks ago as we began a bathroom remodel. Our home is 40 years old. Once upon a time it was a  rental house. After the previous owner’s husband passed away his widow decided to get out of the rental business. Her daughter and brother who is a general contractor polished the place up and put it on the market. Obviously, they used the cheapest material available. The house looked good but we have had to redo almost everything. Last year we considered selling and purchasing a new house. The problem with that however is that we love where we live. after much thought we made the decision to keep our home and make it exactly what we wanted. What are years ago, it would’ve been an easy task to undertake. Back then I had tons of energy. I’m starting to realize the older you get the more difficult it is to do it all. 

   Mandy deserves a new bathroom. She deserves the front porch with a swing. Our camper deserves it covered place to park it. Our snowmobiles deserve to be out of the weather. I can do most of the things that need to be done but quite frankly I’m getting tired. 

   This is what the bathroom looks like two days after making the decision to update it.

    This is what it looks like today. All that is left is to install new doors, trim, and to tile the shower surround around the tub. In regards to the bathroom I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It would’ve been done where it not for and event that started Sunday last.

   Sunday morning while drinking coffee and watching the news I noticed that every light in the house was flickering. Puzzled by what was occurring, l begin to troubleshoot. Starting at one end of the house, I work my way towards the garage and the breaker panel. Nothing seem to be out of place or overloaded but as I approach the breaker panel I heard a noise that sounded much like bacon frying. The conduit from the meter head to the breaker panel was hot to the touch. Thinking there was a problem with the meter I shut off all of the breakers and called the PUD. They arrived an hour later and shut off our power. There was nothing wrong with the meter. They told me however, power  would not be restored until repairs to our electrical system were completed. 5 days and a thousand dollars later, the lights are back on. Thank God I have good friends who are electricians or the financial burden would have been much higher. 

   I had to take Thursday off of work. The electrical inspector was coming and I needed to be there. I suppose I could’ve called in sick but it is difficult for me to lie. It is Saturday, April 21 and I am at work making up for the time I lost.

  The alarm startled me this morning. I was sleeping heavily. My face in the mirror looked haggard. I think I need a vacation.