There are so many things we fail to appreciate until they are gone.
For me, one of those things is waking up under my own power, to the sound of my radio alarm clock.
The morning news on CBC Radio is my usual call to arms, and in the few places I have lived where the CBC did not reach, I always missed it and searched my tuning dial tirelessly in futile attempts to gain any semblance of a signal, no matter how scratchy.
Now I have never been a morning person - anyone who knows me can likely attest to this. However I have not fully comprehended the importance of the wake up for the way my day will go.
That is, until recently.
The District of Fort St. James Public Works a number of weeks ago repaired a broken pipe in front of my house, and this created a dirt patch on the highway, free of pavement.
This has meant there needs to be frequent maintenance to this spot to repair the potholes and smooth out the surface, which public works has been doing almost daily, and is expected to do until ground temperatures allow for repaving to take place (months away).
Public works was doing this between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. in the morning, using a loader bucket to drag across the gravel surface.
My house being in such close proximity and having such poor insulation, my mornings became an agonizing screeching of metal on gravel, sometimes the impact of which would even go as far as to literally shake my house, making it feel as though I was experiencing regular earthquakes as well.
Needless to say, my mornings became painful and edgy, starting my day out with frustration seemed to be creating downstream effects and I was tense and short-tempered.
In fact, I would say I had not even fully grasped the level of impact the noisy and angering start to each day was having on my life and relationships until today.
This is because on Friday, February 22, my day began with quiet.
As my radio turned on, I found myself smiling at the peacefulness surrounding me, looking out at the sunny morning and getting a sense once again of what I like about this place.
So thank-you District of Fort St. James for helping me to appreciate mornings again.
But please, can we try to keep them positive and can you please find a more appropriate time or method to smooth the road?