earth-moving
This past week has been very eventful. Not always in the best of ways, regarding the global health situation and ever-changing news each day which is really affecting us in the travel industry in pretty significant ways already. But alongside this news everyday were also some positive things about the house and life in general.
I wrote an email this week to go out to our company’s guests on upcoming retreats. I mentioned that we should all take a deep collective breath, and also use this time to really look around you and notice those things we usually take for granted. I said “In the midst of all the fear and confusion around us, which is hard sometimes to not get sucked into, I've found that those things we normally take for granted...a daily life where you feel generally safe, the fact that you say goodbye to loved ones for the day and then get to see them once again when they return, even the mundane day-to-day tasks that we're able to do relative freedom - all of these things of goodness get heightened when we are surrounded by talk of fear. “
This was true. I really had found myself in those moments through some of the stressing news reports (especially those hitting very close to home where in Italy), looking around me and savoring the little day-to-day moments. Also, I was reminded at how quickly things can change.
Anyway, back to the house - this week has been quite eventful. After breaking ground last Thursday, since then there has been something new almost every day. The general service road was quickly smoothed and two layers of rocks and pebbles dropped so the construction vehicles have a safe way to enter the sloping lot. Then the cantiere (building site) was put up, secured, and fenced off, with a small trailer going up onsite for the workers. The water pipes and septic tanks were buried, I signed for the start of the utilities of the water and electric hook-ups, and the official notices were posted. Besides the standard big white notice paper with all of the technical information, there’s also a large poster which the builder had professionally made and printed with the final rendering of the house image, as well as the logos of all the engineers and companies involved and my full name proudly on display for every passerby. He said this isn’t normally done, but that there usually isn’t such a beautiful architectural image to use for it. It’s definitely posted as a badge of pride.
Next on Tuesday the technico from the comune came to the lot to physically set the quota, or ground zero as we’ve been calling it. It’s where the depth is set on the plans that will be level “0” and then some parts are higher and some lower from that point. After this was officially declared, then the diggers began fully leveling out the footprint of the building in hopes to put in the pylons early next week. All 36 of these were delivered this week and are stacked on the site. 8-meter long custom-made rebar cages which will get dropped down into deep holes around the foundations and filled with concrete. This house won’t be moving a centimeter when it’s complete.
The earth indeed has been moving around the site - tons and tons of heavy Umbrian clay. And it also feels like the earth has been moving metaphorically this week with the current global shift. One thing I truly believe and am reminding myself of on a regular basis during this uncertainty, is that I trust that there are lessons in everything, and that something is still in store for us.