Today, I come back from a two-week vacation and finally get to experience for the first time what it will mean to work reduced hours. While technically the change happened in July, I only worked half of the month and didn’t get to experience much of the difference. Additionally, I have a call in just about an hour that, if successful, means my “dance card” will essentially be full for the remainder of the year. If that happens, I can truly settle down and settle into a more calm lifestyle.
The change I’ve felt recently from the last few months is dramatic. In early March, I was somewhat lost. Despite the “Mississippi revelation” which led to me reducing my work hours again, it was going to be a couple of months until that was executed. Additionally, the pandemic was still raging and I wasn’t yet vaccinated. While it’s resurging now, I’m fully vaccinated and my little rural corner of the world did pretty well with vaccinations so I don’t have much to worry about. And finally, Darryl and I are in sync about life right now – it needs to slow down and return to routine.
With that somewhat singular focus – of slowing down and reestablishing routines – I start my work month. It has the potential to be a somewhat busy month, which I was genuinely expecting. But, if I can ink deals to make September through December easier, it will set me up for a slow return to a more calm lifestyle. In the meantime, I’m also getting ready for our next set of renovations. These are the big ones that will truly make a difference to both the look and the feel of the house as well as to the way we live.
First things first with the renovations, we need to remove both of our staircases – the one from the basement to the first floor and the one from the first floor to the second floor and install new ones that meet today’s building codes. Essentially, the clearance is nowhere where it needs to be for tall people to take the stairs. (Meanwhile, I’m fine.) After the stairs are removed and replaced, we also need to have a closet built by closing in the stairs on the first floor. This will then contain our recycling center and additional storage – possibly for a bicycle or tools. Finally, a skylight will bring light back to the stairwell that we’re losing as we build it in.
The second big activity will be to remove two load-bearing walls and replace them with the post-and-beams we bought three years ago. That will largely open up our first floor and let the sunshine flow from our brightest rooms to our darker rooms that are currently blocked by walls. Then, there are a few other little projects – ripping out and drywalling a set of built-in bookshelves in the TV room, moving the doorway to Darryl’s office and giving him a new closet, and building some bookshelves on the second floor in the dead space created by the new closet. At the end? Local hardwood maple floors go down throughout. Allergy-friendly, wall-to-wall hardwood floors.
Simply put: I cannot wait. When I first moved in, Darryl and I knew this house had both structural and infrastructure needs that had to be addressed first. The aesthetic stuff had to wait. So, we toiled and saved. We had the house re-roofed, insulated and sided. We put in geothermal and solar. We had the front lawn landscaped from where the geothermal was installed. We had the kitchen done and did the laundry/pantry and half-bath ourselves. We replaced two decks and have one more to go. We insulated our fireplace room ceiling and put up shiplap to cover the insulation and give the house some character. And finally, we ripped up our old carpets and linoleum to reduce the impact on my allergies. Painstakingly, we sanded down the subfloors and sealed them to function as floors until we had the money and the time to have the hardwoods done. We also paid off our mortgage and dedicated those resources to fixing up our house.
When the contractor comes in October, it’s time for the aesthetics and to make the house comfortable for us. We will likely still have at least one bathroom to finish – the main bath – and I still want to eventually get a closet system for our main closet. But the rest? Finito.
As we near the completion of the house, the sense of peace and calm that gives me is just enormous. While the house certainly looks “done” and we have made the best of the subfloors, it will be just fabulous to actually be done and have the posts-and-beams out of the guest bedroom and the tools from the closet into the basement.
Then, the transition to the next phase of our life begins. As Darryl begins to work full-time, I may need to step back even more to let him have the environment he needs to focus on his career opportunity. I look forward to the challenge of truly being the CEO of our household. It’s a job I do as a part-time gig right now, but to have that become the focus of my life feels pretty darned wonderful.
As always, winter will turn to spring and spring will turn to summer and then fall to winter. Our lives will continue this amazing transition. But when I think of where I was a decade ago – a single girl singularly focused on my career and where I am today, a woman content in her own skin and in the simplicity of being home, I am excited for the future. I may not have always done this gracefully or well, but the transitions in my life have been fulfilling and welcome.
The Yuppie Homesteader 