Monday, February 3, 2025

Monday, February 3, 2025

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to a new week!

We are officially living in a construction zone. In my head, this was going to be a simple project. A little plumbing here, a couple of electrical circuits there—how complicated could it be? Well it turns out: VERY!

Saturday, the plumber showed up and went to town cutting, removing, and reinstalling things I didn’t even know existed. Then Sunday rolls around, and two electricians arrive, ready to tackle what I thought was a straightforward job—just adding two dedicated circuits to the bathroom. Easy, right? Well, eight hours later, they were still at it.

Turns out, when these homes were built 20+ years ago, the builder decided to save some time (and probably a few bucks) by using Romex instead of conduit pipe. So, our electricians had to run conduit from the breaker box all the way to the bathroom, which meant opening up walls on every floor—basement, main level, upstairs. Now, everywhere I look, there are holes and patches from what I can only describe as a weekend-long Sawzall championship. The drywaller has a lot of work to do.

Today, the tiler arrives, and he’ll be here all week. I don’t expect this to be a peaceful experience. I’m hoping he doesn’t open up any walls or floors. If he does, I may be able to watch the mice who I hear scratching and crawling between floors during the night.

One silver lining? The crew doing the work has been fantastic—friendly, polite, and great to talk to. We’ve had some deep conversations about why we’re doing this project, touching on ALS and the broader state of healthcare. It never veered into politics—just an honest, heartfelt discussion about experiences and concerns. I appreciated that they weren’t afraid to ask tough questions, even about end-of-life issues.

By the time the electricians wrapped up yesterday, one of them was so meticulous about cleaning up that I had to physically tell him to stop and go home. He had a long drive back to Cicero and wasn’t getting home until 5:00 p.m. I felt bad that he was here all day and away from his family.

Btw…I haven’t shaken this cold and my nose is irritated after two days of blowing and sneezing. I hope it’s gone soon.

Everyone have a great day!

Love you guys! ❤️