THE SECOND SHIFT TAKES OVER

Ellie and C.J. arrived Friday afternoon, just after the workers had parked all the big rigs for the day.  The late afternoon sunlight on an unseasonably warm autumnal day made this work-in-progress a perfect place to try out all the equipment.

Children always contribute a valuable perspective. While I stress about completion dates, styles of masonry, and above all, how much this is going to cost, Ellie and C.J. delight in discovering each new stage when they come on Fridays. They check out the tractors right after the chocolate milk but before the heart waffles. 

Children love routines, and doing something unusual once is often sufficient to establish it as customary. Since I took their pictures one Friday afternoon, I am told that I "always" take their pictures on Friday afternoons. This is now an important part of the ritual. Shameless hams, they eagerly bound from one tractor to the next and vie for the most outlandish poses. 

We part company, however, on our attitudes toward completion. While C.J. and Ellie will be heartbroken when the tractor finally goes back to whatever construction yard it came from, I will be cheering because at long last, our project will be at an end!

But I fear we have many more Fridays before that happy days arrives.