Ah, it sure is nice to be able to drive off the island.

Two and a half weeks ago, this spot at the top of our dead-end road — sorry, “cul de sac” — was a river. A pretty angry, frothy river that had just wiped out our wooden bridge.

So we were stuck here with our vehicles, along with our neighbors and a bunch of folks who were in town visiting. We devised a way to get out, but that involved a quarter-mile trek through our nice neighbor’s cow pasture. Nice cows!

Luckily, Elizabeth’s parents loaned us one of their two cars, so she could get to work and drop the boys off at camp. They could escape our new island…

As for me, I got to stay home and keep on working from home. It didn’t get bad until the last few days, when the guys working on the bridge were getting closer and closer to finishing it. I got a bit… stir-crazy. I couldn’t leave if I wanted. No sneaking off to Rocky Knob for a quick bike ride, or a trip to Bald Guy for a latte. Trapped!

We even had guests come through to visit, so they got to enjoy the hike past the cows on the way to our house.

And now it’s done. Well, more or less. They’re still fine-tuning the bridge, adding in a berm and other structural things. And they need to pave it.

But we can escape, with our own cars! No more trekking around cow pies with groceries in each hand! No more staring down the steers twice a day!

So take a second and appreciate those bridges you pass over every day. Or those roads that are still intact and not crumbling into the ditch (or ravines or mountainsides). And enjoy the curveballs life throws at you instead of stressing about them. I know I did my best… And mostly succeeded. Mostly… 😉