... are we there yet?

Beginning a new job always carries a lot of excitement for me. I relish the thought of everything being new and shiny and in front of me like some anticipated vacation to a tropical island. However, once the 'honeymoon ' is over the work looms large and 'the thrill of the hunt' sensation subsides. This is where I find myself... things 'looming'.
I had greatly anticipated that the first stage of the new building would have been done by now and we could be digging post holes and pier holes. That way we would be ready for the first load of material to arrive; but it was not to be.
The first tractor man did a horrible job on the pad surface so I located and hired a second one the following week. His comments lead me to believe that he was qualified and I made a deal for him to do a 'turn key' job and he agreed. That too was a fiasco. He was there for over 8 hours on what he described as an easy 4 hour job and he still didn't finish the work. Needless to say, I was fried by days end and ready to shoot something or someone. The hole in the ground was enormous and well below grade not to mention the 7 foot pile of dirt sitting next to the pad site; a good 10 yards if not more.
Now don't get me wrong, I like a good challenge but this was bordering on the ridiculous!
Finally, I rented a skid and put all of the dirt back where it had been and got very close to finishing in just over 3 hours. Not bad for a novice if I do say so. Had I done that in the first place I would be digging post holes by now. Hindsight, as they say, is always 20/20, right?
I am once again on my way over to the jobsite to inspect what the mornings rain did to settle the ground and to inspect my handiwork as to it's relative closeness to finish. When I left there at dark last night there were several dips in the top layers at various places that will invariably have to be filled. I pray that the rain helped me out to some extent because the soil is so sandy. A good rain was just what I needed to evaluate the previous day efforts. The thought comes to mind of the old scenario about the long trip involving parents and children.
The inevitable question somehow always presents itself..."are we there yet?"