Go Through It to Grow Through It

Digging holes by hand and tamping posts is a real bitch. Can’t say it’s at the top of my list of most favorite things to do.

 However as I’ve grown older I’ve come to appreciate digging holes, tamping posts, and the life lessons they’ve taught me.

The first shovel scoop is always the hardest. The ground is generally dry and rock hard and requires some coercing with a large heavy digging bar. Once you break through the hard crust, things start to get a little easier. Until….you hit the dreaded hard pan and rocks.

What seemed like a simple task, suddenly becomes daunting.

Articulating between the bar and shovel you take turns chipping the concrete like dirt with the bar, and scooping one small shovel scoop at a time out of the hole. Your shoulders become heavier and your hands raw with every crushing blow of the digging bar.

Just when you’re about to give up and call it quits. Finally! You’ve broke through the hard pan and into softer dirt. A few more scoops and you’re done.

Now that the hole is dug, you can set the post and start tamping. You’ve completed one task but the entire job is far from over.

Though you’re weary and tired, it’s critical you don’t rush this part. You’re far too along in your work to cut corners now. Too much dirt and not enough tamping, and your post will lean over time with the sifting of the loose dirt.

Layer by layer you refill the hole you spent what felt like an eternity digging. Ensuring each layer is packed tightly, so that the integrity of the post and gate can outlast the tests of time.

As for life. The first step or scoop, breaking through the crust is always the hardest. Just because you hit hard pan doesn’t mean you should quit or turn back. You have to go through it, to grow through it. Difficulty and obstacles are never a good measurement for determining your success. Adversity and failure is the dirt you tamp tightly around your post making it strong. Lastly, though you may be exhausted, don’t forsake your integrity by tamping more dirt and less layers. Your character will pay for it down the road.