Two Steps Forward, Four Steps Back

My weekend was pretty bland, but Shaun's not so much. I didn't think he would feel like rehashing it in a blog, so I asked permission to write about it on mine. We really didn't have any plans, and the weather was predicted to be great, so it seemed like a perfect time to make some serious headway on the fence. He got out into the yard pretty early Saturday morning, and had three posts in the ground before he hit a water line with his post-hole diggers. He was simply digging two inches from an existing hole, and soon discovered that the water lines for our house and the two behind us run right through our yard. Not good. He called the water company immediately and had to leave a message. Meanwhile, water is bubbling up out of the ground. He ran to the front yard to try to turn off the water supply, and when he lifted the lid to the water access, a black widow spider was waiting for him. So, he had to abandon the water main for the kitchen to grab spider spray. And water is still bubbling out of the ground. He runs back outside, kills the death spider, turns off the water, and discovers that it is the water for the family of four that lives behind us. (Not the family of three that was gone for the day) Shaun then had to go to their house to deliver the bad news. In the meantime, the water company has informed me that all they would have done is shut off the water, but the repair is our responsibility. This was terrible news, but we have a neighbor who is a handyman by profession and knew exactly how to fix the problem. The only hiccup during the repair was a baby water moccasin that crawled out of the hole and had to be exterminated. In two hours time, crisis averted, water back on. Then, it seemed we were back in business, right? Shaun's goal was to finish putting posts in the ground and pour concrete in the holes. He lifts the tarp off of the remaining bags of concrete and finds eight bags of bag-shaped, hardened concrete. Like tombstones to mark the deaths of all good intentions that day, this was a monumental setback. Condensation had built up under the tarp that was protecting the bags from the rain, and, you guessed it, turned it into blocks. Okay, so no concrete. Next. He managed to put up two sections worth of boards. That was an accomplishment, right? Today, he added nine more boards to those that he put up yesterday, and then I went outside to survey the progress. I was sad to report to him that the boards looked crooked. They were warped boards and had gotten the better of both he and his level. So, just in time for the sun to go down, Shaun took down all of the boards that he put up this weekend. I didn't know what to say when he came in the house. What can you say? I feel like one lesson a weekend is good enough for anyone. Well, maybe that was enough for one week for the poor, tired man lying flat on the living room floor at my feet. Asleep. Here's to Monday.