The grass is always greener...

I woke up today to septic problems. Well, not really. I've known we have septic problems for years now. Our house is old, framed out of wormy chestnut with a black locust foundation. The bathroom was added (hey ma! we can have indoor plumbing!) about 45-50 years ago. It's an old farmhouse...it has character. Character equates to issues. We love it anyway.
However, I still have problems with the septic. And today they became obvious. The short history is this: prior to our family occupying the house in January 1999 I don't think any of the previous occupants ever had the septic tank pumped. Somehow people tend to forget what they can't see directly in front of their face. It’s not a problem until it becomes a problem. Until it backs up in the tub, or fumes them out of the building, it conveniently doesn't exist. So my drain line is failing, from the house to the tank. Maybe my drainfield too. Maybe the pipes have collapsed or cracked. We'll find out as we dig.
Most problems are like this. We notice the potential of them becoming large and expensive, or painful, or deadly, but right now things are still working so we ignore the problem. We assume that things are ‘ok’ and often too late we find out that they are not. Things fall apart people, they never fall together.