Surviving the leap from personal to professional and back again

We completed some work today that we've been carrying out for friends of ours and, for various reasons, it made me feel good.

It's the first job for ages that our lads have been able to finish in a straight, uninterrupted run. The weather badly affected our business over the past couple of months, so it's been great having a decent spell of decent weather to help get things moving again and where heroics in the snow have not been necessary!

Also, the good relationship that we have with our friends - Stuart and Sheila - has not been spoiled! Working for friends can sometimes create a minefield of awkward situations and difficult circumstances. I never really expected that to be the case for this job as the Watsons are lovely, genuine people and I'm sure we would have worked out any problems that may have arisen. But sometimes - with nobody in particular to blame - unforeseen problems with a job can make the leap from a personal to professional relationship rather tricky. There was this one time, for example, that a friend asked us to supply and fit a sandstone hearth but there was a bit of a misunderstanding about the lack of shiny, 'easy to clean' qualities of sandstone. Much to-ing and fro-ing and sealant-applying and carpet-cleaning later we were all still friends, but it was a pretty difficult situation all the same. I'm still slightly embarrassed every time I'm in their lounge, where I can't help noticing their very 'lived-in' looking hearth (which I think looks lovely, real and homely, but I'm pretty sure my friend thinks just looks dirty!).

Fortunately there were no misunderstandings or mishaps that had to be tip-toe'd around whilst working for Stuart and Sheila and, to boot, our clients have assured us that they're delighted with the job! Which is all great, because when I go to Sheila's for lunch next week we can be our usual non-stop chatty selves without any need to footer about on egg shells around the subject of her new landscaping and walling. Yup, we've survived the leap of faith from personal to professional relationship and back again!