Work In Progress

Thomas Divide Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

July 10, 2011

Have you ever had something incredibly difficult and inconvenient happen that eventually became a blessing in disguise because it uncovered something much worse that could have proven disastrous? Many people in the southeast, us included, experienced severe weather on April 27th of this year unlike anything we'd ever witnessed before.  I had never seen and certainly never heard the sound of tennis ball size hail hitting my roof for over 10 minutes.  Fortunately, my side of town escaped tornado damage, but many of my friends did not!  Our damage appeared mostly cosmetic, so we worked with our insurance adjustor from afar and were able to continue our trip to Colorado as planned.  All went smoothly UNTIL the painters arrived and discovered what they said were "a couple" of rotted boards on the side of the house that had sustained the most damage.  It was suggested that someone come replace those boards before the painting was done.  When that individual tore away the first board, it was discovered that we had one heck of a mess.  Somehow, water, hail or wind had damaged the roof and flashing around the chimney in our den and had been seeping/leaking/ruining the insides of our den walls since at least April 27 and possibly from earlier.  He kept ripping more and more boards trying to find the end of the wet "innards" of my den.  It became increasingly painful to watch!  By the time he finally reached dry boards, it was evident that one whole side of my den was destroyed.  How could something that horrible have been invisible until something else (a hailstorm) came along to uncover it?  Eventually (and not very far in the future, I might add), that entire wall would have caved in.  I keep asking, "how could we have prevented this?"  There isn't an easy answer and the seepage  probably dates back to some shoddy roofing that was done seven years ago, but our contractor insists that the hail was so severe for so long that it finally became visible from the outside.  Repairs began this morning and this is what one corner of my den look like right now:

The joists were added this morning to keep the roof from caving in when they remove the walls and window.  Repairs will last approximately three weeks.  Thankfully, we've got a wonderful, honest guy who will do superior work and with whom I'm comfortable giving a key, so I am not stuck here while he works.  

As this saga has unfolded, each worsening layer has been a vivid reminder of how much unseen damage can occur before the warning signs are ever spotted.  Our bodies are made up of so many layers that are never seen, yet are required to work properly if we are to function at our optimum potential.   

This tiny little "bad" space:

Led to the discovery of this:

Which led to this:

And finally to this:

Our contractor continues to assure us that we did nothing wrong.  Although it was somewhat of a fluke, there is no way we could have known this was happening.  But our house is old and when we can't do something ourselves or when we see something amiss, we take steps to get the proper experts here who can help us. 

This healthy eating thing is important.  It is VERY important.  We continue to learn that certain things we put into our bodies are harmful and we are even learning that sometimes things in our environment that we smell or touch can be harmful.  But the lesson of which I am reminded here is that no matter what we eat, smell, touch or breathe, undetected and unseen damage can occur from the inside out.  

Don't waste time.  Get that annual physical.  Have those tests.  Get that horrid mammogram and visit your gynecologist every year. Get that bone density scan.  Visit your eye doctor and dentist at the appropriate time - not when you get around to it.  Do whatever it takes to arrive at a healthy weight and stay there.  Your joints are one of those things like the studs in the walls of my house that will never TELL you they've been damaged until it's too late.  That's damage that can't be seen, but every extra pound triples the burden you are asking your joints to carry.  

I learn new life lessons every day that help me in my journey to a healthy weight.  This has been a vivid reminder that just because something LOOKS right doesn't mean all is well.  I'll do all I can to keep my body functioning properly from the inside out.  And when it doesn't, I'll get help from the best experts I can find. 

I finally was able to hike in my Smoky Mountains on Saturday.  It was incredibly hot and humid even at an elevation of over 5,000 feet.  I missed the cool temps and dry air in Colorado, but it sure was nice to be back home in MY mountains.  

Eating is on plan and going well.  Weight comes off of me so slowly and a recent thyroid check told me that we still don't have it regulated properly.  I am still of the mind that this could be at the root of why I have felt so rotten most of this year.  The thyroid is such a persnickety little thing and it sure can cause a lot of trouble.  But I've got an expert and we're working on it.  Don't want any surprises!!

What's happening in your world these days?