New construction. If you ever have the opportunity to build a new home, I highly recommend it. It’s a lot of fun. It’s so nice to choose all of your own colors, your appliances, fixtures, and layout. That said, there are some things you don’t think about which are not as fun. Like the mud and dust and dirt that linger long after your home is complete. Especially if you are building your home as part of a larger community and you’re part of an earlier phase. We’ve been here a little over a year now. Last summer we washed our car an obscene number of times. Did I mention there’s a lot of dust and dirt?

This year it’s been a lot better because our street is almost done. It’s still an adventure though. It’s always fun to see the other new houses going up. The last three new homes on our street are in various stages of completion. All have been framed. One is nearing completion. These last three homes are all sort of in the middle of the block. One on the left, two on the right. To cut down on the mud, dirt and debris the front of the property is lined with… well, let’s call them big, black socks. These “socks” line the edge of the lots near the curb. On Friday we had a big storm. There was high wind, sideways rain and even some hail. What looked like a rushing river developed between two homes that back up to what is to be the next phase, which is at a bit higher elevation. The water and wind pushed the socks into the street blocking the sewers. Our street quickly became a lake. It’s easy to laugh about it now, because no homes or property were damaged. However for about an hour, our street was impassable! As the rain subsided neighbors began venturing outside to stare at the lake. We flagged down any cars that turned onto our block and told them not to cross. The water was at least 3 1/2 ft deep if not more.

One of the best moments of the evening came when a pizza delivery car turned onto our street. Onlookers hailed him, explaining that the road was not passable. He proceeded to park, remove his shoes and socks, roll up his pants and wade through the high water to deliver his pie! Finally my husband and several others, armed with shovels, located the offending “socks” and pulled them out of the street and away from the sewers. The water drained quickly and all was right with the world again. Good times.