Adversity brings determination and resilience

Two days ago, the weather was still a bit miserable so we spent some time inside the shell of the Tiny house discussing various options and the layout.  Our smaller loft has not been installed yet (we will probably do that after the insulation goes in) therefore we imagined its placement and where the  stairs would need to be to get up to the roof window and deck.  Suddenly, it dawned on me; there was really no way to actually walk up to the roof top window.  One would have to crawl across the loft then stand up to exit. What had I done?  I couldn’t believe I had messed this up.  Arrrrgghhh (okay, I said a few worse things….)

Julia, always so calm and collected, simply replied, “Not a problem. Let’s use it as an opportunity.  Perhaps we could mount a collapsible ladder and now enter from the main floor.  That might even be better.”

It was the end of the day so we went back in and researched various ideas for ladders using lofts and attics as keywords.  We did not find the perfect solution.  The next day we continued our other work as we had to get the roof all sealed and wrapped up. Rain was in the forecast; coming in a couple of days.   That night I went back into the office, still so agitated and upset at myself for messing up the design.  I turned on the computer and reviewed the design file to see where I went wrong.  On the design plan, the location of the rooftop window was a lot further forward than where it was on the house.  Had I missed something in my review of the Volstrukt final designs?  I opened their final drawings and they were accurate as well.  Eureka!!!  I figured it out.

“Julia,” I called. “I have some good news and I have some bad news.”

The good news was that I had figured out a solution to our rooftop window problem.  The bad news was that in our excitement to get all assembled, we had placed one of the roof panels upside down and it went unnoticed.   This meant we had to remove the roof sheathing, undo countless screws holding the roof panel, loosen the wall sheathing at the top, and unscrew four hurricane straps that held this section together.  We then flipped the roof panel and put it all back together again.

Today was an early rise and shine.  I ran off to Home Depot and Wegman’s, which both opened at 6:00AM.  When I returned home, Julia was already on the roof.  We had a great day.  Once we put the roof in its proper place, everything just worked out better.  We were now back on track.  In the process, we discovered some new ideas for storage in the roof.  Perfect!

Don’t ever let obstacles get in your way or get you down.  Think of ways to use the situation to your advantage.  When it seems you are behind the eight ball, just dig in a little deeper, try a little harder, and you are sure to get back on track.  There are no challenges, only opportunities.