The problem with the high road is that so few people take it.

Over the years I’ve learned to split off things that matter, and things that don’t.  That also applies to people.  I know what’s important to me, what makes those around me happy, and that’s really enough to get me through the day.  I trust the people close to me, enough to have honest conversations on pretty much any topic.  I’m more than willing to help people out… last weekend the plans changed from playing golf to building a shed, and I didn’t really see an issue with that.

I noted earlier that I have been fortunate to own and have access to other cottages.  Access to those other cottages means that I can let people use mine.  This year, a lot of people are under cabin fever, so that’s a boon to them.

Prior context – we took a weekend to lift the cottage and install some weeping tile (~250′).  The doors close better.  Water weeps better.  Some parts of the cottage necessarily have new gaps that we’re going to discover.

The first group had a blast.  They went through a cord and a half of wood in something like 3 days (if you burn wood, you know how crazy that is).  No issues, came back, and things were super clean and orderly.

Second group also had a great time.  We got a few messages from them about things they did – like finding a wasp’s nest, or a light fixture not working.  They even attempted to change the light.  They are also super clean and make sure things are as they left.

Fifth group is great.  They just needed some time away from the city and some calm.  No challenges.

Fourth group encountered some challenges.  The BBQ was missing some gas, and even then wasn’t rolling 100%.  There was a communication challenge as well, related to the third group.  Still, a rather good experience

The third.  While there, the messages were great, no issues.  I’m not sure what happened between group 3 and 4, but that didn’t go as smoothly as it could have.  Not bad, just not as smooth as all the others.  We did get a follow-up from group 3 afterwards.  That was a weird one.  Some out of left field comments on the maintenance of the cottage.  A point that there was a leak inside the cottage during the rain.  Things that make you go “hmmm”.  Especially considering the weekend of gold/shed building would have moved to repairing this issue ASAP.

The highroad in this is what happens after my stomach turns to knots and I take a dozen deep breaths.  I would have absolutely taken a different approach than group 3, and some of the comments are without any weight.  It’s a cottage.  I really don’t care what one group thinks of cosmetics, when I have no issues with 4 others.  The high road here is to thank them for the information, let others know there may be some issues to look out for, and then head up on the weekend to do the necessary investigation / repairs.   The roof was already planned to be redone in the fall, when it wasn’t a heat wave.  Siding was another project to do, and then there’s some landscaping to close out the fall and finalize in early spring.

I guess I’m getting more mature.  When I was younger I’d have no issues letting my opinions be shared.  But there’s no real end point here than two sides that don’t agree on something banal. Or maybe I’m just tired of the energy required to have those arguments.  On to the next project.