End of a (short) era

This week concludes four weeks of the renovation and the end of the semester at my University. The latter meant week four of our reno, for me, was filled with grading papers, final exams, and dealing with student angst when they realized despite months of reminders, that not going to class or doing assignments have some consequences they may not like. I do everything in my power to help them, but, ultimately, their achievement is up to them. As my sister, also an academic (with an actual Ph.D.) noted, the emotional energy faculty expend is invisible to students, but quite exhausting! I didn’t realize until this weekend–when the workers were getting a well-deserved two days off themselves–how overwhelming the combination of the end of the semester and ongoing loud, dusty, and isolating the reno work can be. Please don’t get me wrong, these workers are as conscientious as they can be; this is just not an easy process.

To get a little sense of normalcy during the brief time of no activity this weekend, Dan took Saoise for walks and the three of us enjoyed a stroll to IU South Bend and the connecting North Side River Walk Trail. Well, *I* enjoyed it, while Dan kept trying to retrain the dog from hell (but so sweet) when she thrilled at every dog along the way. Ugh. It was, nonetheless, a way to replace emotional energy expenditure with physical energy expenditure. (He did get her to calm down.)

The reno itself is making great progress. Our new 3/4 bathroom, replacing the main-floor powder room, is roughed in including the new pocket door frame into the mudroom and updated plumbing for the new shower and the relocated sink and toilet. The original bathroom doors will become the pocket doors to maintain the history of the house.

All of the newly installed plumbing has been approved through inspection. And think of it: nearly 90-year-old and failing water and sewer lines have been updated to current code in the entire working section of the home. (Fortunately, as spring finally emerged in South Bend, the fumigacious old cast-iron pipes from 1936 that had been simmering in a refuse trailer in our driveway has been hauled away.) My brother, who has also spent quality time in construction, was most worried about our plumbing, which had been highly jury-rigged. I had assured him that our contract covered this, and am glad to see the children of our father, Barton, would be proud.

This coming week, we will switch the power source to the house from the current 120 service (still inside our framed new kitchen) to the 240 service connecting to the side of the house. That will mean that our new kitchen windows will be installed! Light! (Although we will have no power for several hours on Tuesday for two people who work from home. That will perhaps necessitate another long walk.)

We have found it a challenge to keep Saoirse out of the work area, despite how well the team seals it off. This means she is pretty restricted in her movements, which increases her stress. The good news is that she prefers to be right next to Dan at all times, so when he’s nearby, she’s safe.

I would share some photos, but currently, they’re mostly of plastic covered stuff, which are not illuminating (pun intended). Former owners who may be following will find next week’s updates to be fun to watch!