Bang. Bang. Crash.


Getting a new roof is quite a proposition, and can cost a fortune. When you drive down any street, and see a bunch of roofers, roofing, it seems very muted and unobtrusive. Those roofing men and women, move around seamlessly on the tops of houses. It looks daring and physically challenging, but it is way up there. Somehow, discreet.

But when it is happening to your roof, and they are directly above, it sounds like the Thunder of Thor. And invasive. Well yes, we are getting a new roof. It seems that our old cedar-shake-shingles got shaky.

We built this house 22 years ago. Talk about “quite a proposition.” We had lived in Eaton, Ohio for several years prior to that build. Back then, when I moved from Dayton, to Eaton with Mary, I already thought I was migrating to the country. I labeled myself as a brand new country-bumpkin. Little did I know.

But that is a different story.

Back to building. As I mentioned, we decided on shake shingles, way back when. They were supposed to last 50 years. But they did not. About eight years ago, the roof started leaking. And now, finally, we have given way to replacing it.

The project started a week ago. A team of men, all of whom are Amish, are putting on our roof. They are hard, hard workers. And. They are the loudest Amish people I have ever known. Actually, they are the only Amish people I have ever know. When you drive down the road, and see Amish people driving their buggies, they seem quiet, and unobtrusive. But when they are directly above, with hammers, pounding, they sound like the Thunder of Thor.

Our new roof is metal. And shiny. And shiny-metal-new. And hopefully, sealed tight as a drum.

This whole process makes lots of noise and dust. It scares our dogs and every other living creature within earshot. But in the end, it will be good.

That is how a lot of things go. Sometimes you have to go through the mire to make the journey. The noise. The dust. The Amish overhead. But in the end, you navigate the change that needs to be made.

I am simply grateful that we have a roof over our heads. That, is something not every person has. It truly is a great fortune.

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“Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby- awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

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“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.”
― Helen Keller

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“When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.”
― C.S. Lewis

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