On Perseverance

For those acquainted with the daily postings of The Front Porch, the absence of a post yesterday should have signaled a busy day of paperwork as we closed escrow on Lakeview Trails North. The fact is that the closing did not happen yesterday and so The Mister and I took the opportunity to go to Tucson and participate in a business meeting with our daughter. Today I want to share some of my personal reflections on the topic of perseverance, as much a reminder to myself as it is a look into the world of building communities.

One of The Mister's strongest character qualities happens to be perseverance; it is one of the reasons he won me over in marriage (either that, or I had to say yes because he kept asking and it was becoming apparent that he wouldn't stop), and it's a primary reason that Morrison Ranch exists. I, on the other hand, seem to have the McDonald's mentality - less than 2 minutes to get through the drivethrough, and by the way, I Deserve a Break Today - and I often find myself muttering to myself "how hard can it be?" It's pretty obvious that in this endeavor to build a community, there are a myriad of delays and setbacks, and after watching them for many many years, I should expect them. And then I should join the team in working through the delay or the setback, and move on. The operative word here is "should." I confess to occasional discouragement, especially when I am heavily involved, as in a closing. But I have the benefit of living with The Mister, whose mantra is generally something like, "Okay, how can we get this done, and make everyone as happy as possible?" Win-win, as it were.

With that background, here are some updates on my "How hard can it be?" list:

Lakeview Village
The only phrase I hear more often than "it always takes longer" is "did you know that we have expansive soil in Gilbert?" Expansive soil is the culprit in heaving sidewalks, cracks in the asphalt, and the cracks in the stucco on your house after a year or so. Builders have learned to deal with the expansive soils by adding lime to the dirt before construction, and post-tension techniques, but thus far nobody has come up with a way to reduce the effects of expansive soil to zero. It's one thing to repair the cracks on a house; it's quite another to keep up with an entire shopping center. Last year, Lakeview Village got some repairs to the cracks and a coat of elastomeric paint that is supposed to help prevent a recurrence of cracks. Now there are some heaving sidewalks that need to be dealt with. This falls under the category of dealing with the environment in which we live.

The blue fountain, on the other hand, falls under the category of human error; and while I won't publicly place blame, I will admit that it continues to be a great disappointment to me and the rest of our office. I still have some hope of getting the various modes operating correctly, and I still have hopes of enjoying that courtyard with my cup of coffee.

As for the empty shops in The Oasis, some great leasing news has surfaced. In The Raw, a juice bar and coffee house with a welcoming bent toward dog lovers, is in the process of getting their permits to begin their improvements. Negotiations are also in process with a cafe that offers healthier fast food in a nice environment, and they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Highland Groves
The lakes in this community fall under the category of bureaucratic tangle; I've stopped asking The Water Expert and The Mister if there is any water in the lakes. The explanation here is that the electrical thingy that I posted about before is waiting for its inspection from the Town of Gilbert, which is backed up in the inspection department, and then it has to get the okay from SRP, and then it has to be tested, and then we might see some water in the lakes. I rather suspect that once the lakes are blue and the common landscaping is installed in earnest, it will feel like things are happening at a breakneck pace.



And of course, the closing on Lakeview Trails North has been pushed back a bit, which is unfortunate in the sense that it is hanging on the horizon while I'm trying to make tracks on wedding planning with my daughter who is home on spring break. But most of my work is done on this, and other than overseeing any changing numbers, it really should not materially affect wedding preparations.

As I said before, my advantage is that The Mister helps me keep perspective. In the Grand Scheme of the Universe, delays in seeing Morrison Ranch become what we hope it will be do not necessarily destroy all chance of daily contentment. It's a good thing he's so stubborn.

I mean perseverant.