If you’re working, you know that some work days are just plain more fun than others. Sometimes, especially after a long, hard winter, I really need one of those fun days. So last week, I got a dose of what I needed, because tearing down a house is ALWAYS a fun day! Demolition Day is fun for a lot of reasons- first is the signalling of the start of a new project. That always gets me going. The start of a new project, the promise of shaping a new home, creating a new thing that will be in its place long after I’m gone, that will stand the test of time and will stand firm in the wind, keeping its families safe for generations.. Second is knowing that my team and I are going to take one structure that has played out its usefulness, and build, in its place, a new home for a new family. A place where children will be raised, family milestones marked, happy times had, and a new anchor for a new family. And third, there is really not much chance I can mess up! In a world that has gotten so complicated, the basic act of demolition is devoid of chances to paint a wrong color, no chance to install the wrong tile, no worry about the levelness of walls, and no chance to forget to wire for a revered light fixture. All the standard worries melt away as the home disappears into the great beyond that formerly beloved homes disappear into. Left in its place is a blank slate, waiting for the first shovel for the new foundation. Demolition Day would seem so destructive and wasteful, if it didn’t mean that a massive act of creation, involving dozens of skilled craftspeople, was on the verge of erupting. Waiting only for a little spring sunshine and for someone to say “GO”!
