My family made the decision to put in a pool. It was part of our plan from day 1, but we wanted to wait until our youngest was old enough to be safe around water. I was the one who managed this process and I can tell you now that I did not enjoy it. The end is in sight though and that has provided a tremendous relief.
I started quoting this back in September of last year (its April now for future readers). I signed the contract and made the down payment just before Thanksgiving. I had no idea what to expect. I had some concept because I had to agree to releasing them from a lot of liability that really thought they should keep. The whole process is “hurry up and wait.” One of the main issues is that there was not a clear schedule. Everything was an “estimate.” I just had to sit around and wait for the next contractor to show up. This wasn’t just a “I paid you, now you make me a pool.” There was a lot of management involved. One of the reasons I couldn’t just let whatever happen happen was that I spent a lot of freak’n money to get this thing.
It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I realized this whole process was taking up all of my brain power. I had family, work, and pool. I didn’t have room for any other thoughts. If you are a reader of our blog, I wrote a while back about my writing and wanting to get it started. Yeah, that hasn’t happened. I have been continuously frustrated every time I try to write. I just didn’t have any creativity. My tank was empty.
This week is the last week. As I’m writing this, the pool is filling up. I explained to my friend on a call that I physically felt like I had a pressure valve in my rib cage jettisoning stress from my body. It’s not over yet, but the end is near.
Looking back, I think about all the people who kept telling me, “Yeah, but it will be worth it when you have it.” I mean EVERYONE told me that. I think that is a perspective that comes from people who are already on the other side of massive projects like that, because I couldn’t see it. I argued with every one of them. Though their comments didn’t help me in the moment, I think I see now what they were trying to do for me. They were trying to lift my eyes up from the current stress and frustration to the reward at the end. If we can keep our eyes on the prize, then that will reframe the current situation. The end is the little light at the end of the tunnel. The glimmer of hope for something better then what is now.
Our everyday experiences give us an opportunity to reflect on our Christian walk as well. When we take our eyes off Christ we become overwhelmed with the troubles of this world. When we become enveloped by those troubles, it is very difficult to look at anything else. Sometime we have to ride out this current issue so we can take a breath and reset. Sometimes we have to pry our eyes away and remind ourselves of the future joy that outweighs anything here on earth.
Eyes on the prize, kids. Eyes on the prize.
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