I really want to thank you for the job you have done. You were such a pleasure to work with. One of my friends described my working relationship with you as sublime. She teaches English at Wesleyan. I knew sublime was a good thing, but I thought I’d look it up to refresh myself on the nuances of its meaning. The dictionary says, “inspiring awe.” I’ll go with that. It’s not just that you came up with creative ideas that improved the project (like opening up the kitchen and choosing Max to do the spiral staircase), it’s the way you treated me and my home.

You are so unlike any stereotype of contractors/construction workers (except for that good looking and fit thing inspired by the Coke commercials). You didn’t swear (at least when you knew I was around), you don’t smoke, you showed up every day or let me know what was going on, and there were so many things you did that were truly considerate and beyond what the job required (fixing the broken glass on my spice cabinet, changing my license plates, moving furniture out and in …). I had more than one comment on how clean the job site was. And I really enjoyed you guys; you were fun to be with.

Living in the middle of a construction project is generally pretty stressful, but there were very few times when I felt really stressed. I credit your attitude and openness for making this possible.

I told a co-worker on Friday that Steve had called to say the job was finished. She asked if I was a little sad, it I felt like I’d lost a friend. I think you know what I said. I am going to miss you, Shadow will miss you, but I don’t think the cats or Caitlin will. I wish you the best of luck, hope the Lancaster Conservatory business takes off, and will happily recommend you to anyone who calls.

Merri Skrdla