For many, it was a holiday weekend. For our little fam, it was renos. But again, we are close to the end. This weekend involved hanging both the hall closet and guest bathroom doors as well as the “big cleanout” of my office to prepare for laying floors next weekend. The thing is this weekend turned out to be the big set up to the downward slide. My floors next weekend will mean that the long hallway/landing, our overly large main bedroom and my office/guest room (the second biggest room in the upstairs) are all done. Further, the four doors being done means just one more door. After this, it’s Darryl’s office, our closet and one more door. And when we’re done, we’re… well, almost done. We will still have a few other things to finish – namely the trim and small projects around the house. But, there will be no more weeks-long projects inside. And the rest can wait until fall and cold weather.
Now, for once, we have the timing just about right. After this week/weekend coming up, the weather is going to get warmer and we are going to want to be outside. So, to be finishing up with just a few weekends left to go couldn’t be much better.
Then, it’s on to both of us living our best life.
If I’m honest, the floors upstairs were a big project hanging over our heads. First, it wasn’t just floors. It was floors, doors and trim. And even though the trim won’t be done with the floors and doors, the trim is a relatively easy, one-weekend project. It was the floors and doors that were going to be time suck. And the floors and doors being undone represented so much about our life that was still in chaos. The upstairs could never really “look good” without the floors and doors. So, it felt like our life was still disrupted. Now that they’re all going in and are candidly looking pretty darned good, we can get on with the rest of life.
It’s been a long time coming, honestly. While the last few years have had significant moments to celebrate, there have been some painfully sad and traumatic moments as well. Somehow, the renovations – which has encompassed that whole timeframe – have become embolic of those times we struggled. To be clear of them will feel like there are no more clouds hanging over our heads. Hopefully, with good weather and just repeated good days ahead, we will get to see how our “new life” really works.
Granted, I see glimpses of new life. I am already less stressed. Some of the drudgery of my prior life has already ebbed. I hated that profound sense of obligation and pressure I experienced every Monday. Even when I knew where the billable hours were coming from, it was the stress of not just working those hours, but finding new as well. Today, I’m still thinking about this week’s and future hours, but I’m thinking about them for me and not to meet someone else’s expectations.
I can also see the future and it generally appears more settled than before. With my niece and nephew home and nearly settled; my other niece and nephew married and my third nephew successfully completing his first year of college, life can now resume its typical pace. No more big highs and hopefully no more big lows but instead a series of regular days with small joys and small challenges.
I think, honestly, that’s what I look forward to the most. Just regular days. No big adventures but no fear of big disasters. Everything in a calm plane.
When I think of being a kid on summer break back in those primary grade years, that’s the thing I remember most. We weren’t seeking highs and avoiding lows during those days. Instead, we were confident that the day was likely going to be good. No wild swings between great and bad. Just good. And that was plenty for us. Whether it was playing PayDay on the front porch during a rainy afternoon, a pickup kickball game in the backyard or swimming in the neighbor’s pool, days were going to be good.
This summer, that’s what I want for all of us. Just good, normal days. And while a few final things have to slot into place first, it feels entirely possible. With renovations being completed on the low end to major life events on the high end, we got here. And while I still don’t have that unwavering confidence that I had as a child, I do have some fledging belief that this is our time – not just for our little family but for my larger family. We did this. We weathered health storms, a worldwide pandemic, the major milestones of life and a massive, whole-house renovation. We got ourselves here. It’s time, honestly, to just enjoy the now.
The Yuppie Homesteader 