Shall we play a game?

(Name the movie - answer is at the bottom of the post!)

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Imagine a racecourse set out for these 8 marbles...

All eight marbles are lined up on the starting line.  The finish line is 9 feet away from the starting line.  The object of the game is not for any one marble to cross the finish line, beating out all the others trailing behind it, but rather to get all 8 marbles across the line together.  And you’re trying to move the marbles by propelling them with air you’re blowing at them through a straw.

Now imagine that as the marbles move along from the starting line to the finish line, some of them meet with obstacles that impede their progress.  Some marbles may “stall out” or go sideways or even roll backwards at times.  Further complicating the path to their destination, some of these marbles must move at the same time as others, and/or, cannot proceed until a sequence of marble moves are executed in a specified order.  Let’s say that while you’re in the midst of this game, a new rule is thrown in that includes time.  Now you can’t move the green marble until a specified date.  Or, you must move the clear marble three weeks prior to the orange marble.

Confused yet?

Wondering how you’ll accomplish this?  Can’t tell when the game will be concluded?  Then you have some sense of the “game” that Jim has been playing in his head for several years now.  It has been going on since we began the planning for, and then the actual construction of, our house up on The Ridge.  Except for him, this game has hundreds of marbles and the distance from start to finish is as long as a football field!

The marbles in our game are all of the decisions and action steps that have to be taken, in sequence, to build a house.

And not just any house, but one with very specialized materials, systems and construction details.  And not just anywhere, but up on a very remote piece of land at the end of 8 miles of dirt road.  And not with a crew of skilled laborers but rather with Jim as Architect, Designer, General Contractor, Plumber, Electrician, Rough Carpenter, Finish Carpenter, HVAC Technician, Information Technology Lead, Procurement Officer, etc., etc., etc.  He has me, along with friends and family, following his lead and lending a hand, but most of us are not very knowledgeable about what we’re trying to help him achieve at any given time.

Jim is constantly planning our process to ensure our next steps are taken in appropriate sequence and with all the tools and materials necessary.  We are so remote that if we don’t have on site what we need to keep moving forward on any given project, or part of a project,  then it may have to wait days or weeks to complete or take the next step.  Time, weather, money, and human resources are all constantly evaluated as to their impact on what happens next and when.

So, next time you’re tempted to ask me, “when will it be done?”, keep in mind that really we’re just trying not to lose our marbles in the process!‍

Movie - Wargames