Tilting

 

We can all go through life attacking imaginary enemies if we so choose. Don Quixote tilted at windmills, but I dare say today he'd have equally mistaken a row of pylons for evil giants. 

In retirement my choice has been to avoid conflict, as I try to negotiate my way to a place of calm and stress-free Karma. Unfortunately in recent weeks, it has not been so easy. 

There is one chance for the floors  of our home to be reinstated properly. We have no confidence that the insurance company's contractors can deliver. Would you employ a crew used to digging holes and trenches to put everything back together again with the finesse of a master housebuilder? We are understandably running scared. Work has ground to a halt and having sought expert advice have been left even more concerned.

It's just like being back at work, waking in the middle of the night to confront the worries of the next day. Even then, I doubt I ever dreamt about filling in floors nor planned conversations with fictional construction workers. 

"We'll have to agree to disagree," I was told by the Project Manager when I pointed out the shoddy workmanship which he was blaming on adverse weather. Are we tilting at a real or imaginary enemy? 

A working history of court room battles has left me without the appetite for more. We just want to be able to resume that euphoric retirement life again without the plethora of cares and concerns that now plague us. Our coping strategy of leaving the issue to the so called professionals nominated by the insurer has come back to bite.

Perhaps we were far too keen to absolve ourselves of responsibility and hand the reins to those who, we were told, had experience in such matters. Putting a little distance between us and the problem by moving into temporary accommodation certainly fostered the disconnect. Isn't that what anyone looking for an easy life would do?

Now, however, we recognise it isn't a long-term solution. We have shaken ourselves out of the malaise. If we do want to revert to normality in our own home, we have to be ready to fight to achieve that. Substandard service is not acceptable. We are on the front line, emails (not cannons) have been fired off to all and sundry and a meeting date arranged. Let battle commence!