Playing in the dirt

I was like many little kids. I went through a phase where I loved big bulldozers, skidloaders, and backhoes trucks. I wanted nothing more than to play in the dirt. I had a metal Tonka dump truck and imagined that I was on a construction site and working just like the real people.

I thought that I had grown out of that phase, but I think I might be wrong.

A new three story apartment building and retail space is being built near me. Whenever I drive by, I take note of whatever new work has been achieved. Oh, I’ve lied. I tell my wife that I’m just grabbing a coffee or lunch, but really I’m like a little kid. I pull over to the side of the road and see what new things have cropped up.

Give me a hard-hat and clipboard and I could pass as the construction supervisor.

I noticed one day that the workers had moved a big pile of dirt. They transferred it from the front of the property to the back. The next day I noticed the workers had installed a few additional beams. You could start to see the structure of the apartment building taking shape. A few weeks later I noticed that they had lights on inside the building and an exterior retaining wall had been built.

Slowly but surely over the past five months they’ve been making progress. I watched astounded today as the place was busy with a ton of different cars and trucks. There wasn’t enough space to fit them all. There were workers everywhere, inside and out. I’m sure the “big push” is on to have the building and rental space completed in time for the Fall.

Besides the building coming into focus, I noticed today two new dirt mounds. I was half tempted to grab my boots and my thin windbreaker and get in an empty skidloader and start evening out the dirt. No one would mind, right?

“Um, yea, I’m the new worker. Don’t mind me.”

I guess you can never quite take the little kid out of the adult.

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42 thoughts on “Playing in the dirt”

  1. Your inner child keeps you young and keeps the world filled with wonder and curiousity. And you certainly shine with your inner child! Building projects are the best to see from start to completion!

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    1. Oh Ab, I may look and try to act like an adult, but I’m really a big kid. Nine or ten … that’s me. I don’t want to work at the construction site. I just want to play. Move the dirt around a little. Get my hands dirty. Be a general annoyance. Ha ha. Yes, I’m still a kid!!!!🤣🤣🤣

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  2. I know what you mean. Whenever I see a skid steer I tell my wife that I want to get one to play with in the backyard. She simply tells me, “No.” At one pint in my career I was writing advertising for Ford tractors. They sent us to their dealer training farm where they taught us how to operate backhoes and other construction equipment. It was a dream come true.

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    1. The look on my face: you got invited to play on their construction equipment!!! Ha ha. That had to be fun. Yes, a dream come true. And yes, I’m convinced that we’re all kids at heart. Some of us just have a tougher time hiding it. I know I’m horrible at hiding my real age of 10. 🤣🤣🤣😎

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  4. I love this, Brian! I’d introduce yourself to the crew. Tell them your “need” to join in—perhaps they’ll have a “Bring an adult dreamer to work day!” (Like “Take your child to work” day, lol). You could really start something! Never stop dreaming. I loved being in the dirt when I was a girl. I know heavy equipment operators who’ve made careers of “peace” being in the equipment all day. I applaud their work (and aches!). Without them, what would we do? I’m like that when I see farms—I STILL want to have a farm of all kinds of animals-particularly goats!

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    1. A good friend always jokes that he wants to buy a farm (or a farmette, whatever that is. A small farm, perhaps?) in his retirement. He jokes that he’ll have a few cows and grow a few things. I think he likes the idea of playing in the dirt and “having something to putter with.” Ha, ha. I like your idea, take your adult dreamer to work day. However, I’m not sure anyone wants to put up with me all day, asking all kinds of questions about the farm or construction equipment. Ha, ha.

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    1. Love how you phrase that . . . “better at disguising it.” Ha, ha. Funny too how we love to play in the dirt and change our environment. But as adults change becomes bad. I guess just the way life is. Ha. ha.

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  7. I get it. Well, not so much the part of wanting to be part of the builders but the fascination with seeing something being built. Across the street, okay, on an angle, they are building a grocery store and I could not be more excited. Mostly because there are no more grocery stores within walking distance (the one we had was more health-food, but still was great when in a pickle. They closed down and I was totally, woe is me! But, the other day, I was passing by and saw that another grocery store is taking its place!) I went from none to two just like that! Or will, anyway…

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  8. I understand where you’re coming from. We have friends in Santa Barbara who have been remodeling their ocean view, hilltop house for several years. They are doing the work themselves. Each summer when we visit, it’s fun to see the progress they’ve made. The husband is in a contractor and he has all this heavy equipment in a large garage below the house. My husband would love to take some of the equipment out to play!

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    1. It’s actually kind of cool. The building really isn’t that big or special. It’s just in a place where you don’t expect to see a lot of development, new construction. On top of that, there’s me who’s “gawks” every time I drive by to see what’s new. My next piece will be on the accident I created hitting the guy in front of me. Ha, ha.

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  13. You’re gonna make a fantastic grandpa someday. You’ll be able to do all this kid stuff again with wild abandon—and no need to hide it from your wife, lol

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  14. I can just see you as a little kid. LOL. When I worked as a preschool teacher, there was a set of twins that absolutely went giddy with joy when a construction company was working near our facility. Every morning they’d holler, “Miss Rosie, Miss Rosie look, look, Look at the big digger!! Look at the big truck!! Did you hear that?!?! (as the truck was roaring away)” They’d ooh and ahh and clasp their hands together while having the biggest smile on their face. They were such fun little kids.💞

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