It's raining big, beefy, manly men

On March 5th I uploaded a picture of the notice from the city stating that they would replace our water main on that date. In city construction speak, that means "we will at some point in the next two to three months replace your water main." I had hoped to chronicle the excitement - woohoo- but it has been like watching toenails grow. Occasionally there were signs of some action when we returned home from work. A little spray paint here, a yellow flag there, some hieroglyphics on the road itself. A pile of sand and another of dirt unloaded at the corner, providing entertainment for the delight of the neighborhood children, and something new and different to blow through my front door with our recent high winds. Not much else. Until Good Friday.

On that day the manly men and their manly machines invaded our street, digging holes, putting in new pipe, and back filling with what was left of the sand and dirt. By yesterday morning they were at my house. I didn't leave early enough, and was trapped in the house for a few hours, my only option being to drive through my soggy front yard to escape. Darn. I had to stay home. I wasn't complaining.

Today I came home a little early from work and had to play dodge-the-large-earth-moving-machines-and-beefy-dudes-wielding-shovels with my car. As I write, we do not have water, the gas line is ruptured, and it's almost quittin' time. School just let out and all the little children are running the obstacle course, most having to circle almost to my front porch, trying to reach their respective homes. The joys of progress.

Frankly, I don't mind the mess if it means the city infrastructure is being updated. Our house was built in 1937 and I'm sure the water line is of the same age. The weird thing is that I've always loved the taste of our water. I'm wondering if it will taste the same after the leaking pipe has been replaced.

And I'm also quite sure that we are not getting curbs. And I so wanted to join the ranks of true suburbia and get curbs. Sidewalks are, I know, out of our league, but a curb seems a small thing to wish for.