A Journey of a Thousand Miles Gets You Very Tired

I remember about a year ago, I pronounced to my wife that we have hit the bottom--and this was a good thing. "Bottom," in our case, was the point where we no longer had to destroy something first before things got better. But the days leading up to "bottom" were some of the most taxing days of our renovation experience.

As part of our renovation plan, we had decided to tear down the numerous (and poorly built) "additions" that had been added to this house over the course of years and re-build them. This project was going to allow us to lower and unify the roofline (thus exposing more of the original house) while at the same time allow us to raise the ceilings back to the original 11 foot height...You see in the 1970's the downstairs ceilings were lowered to 8 feet, and we wanted them back to the original height, where possible.

Six 30 yard dumpsters were ordered and the demolition began. Despite my attempts to isolate our "living" portion of the house, the demolition process created holy hell--dust, no dirt, was everywhere--holes in the walls and wind whistling dixie through the house. I had sent my wife and kids away for the day and when they came back, I could see that my wife was not, how shall we say, enjoying the "progress."

"Honey," I said, "Why don't you and the kids stay at a hotel--get room service and enjoy the pool--for the next couple of nights while I get things torn down." I stayed behind because the house was open for the world to enjoy. But about a week later, everything was torn down and packed away...and that was "bottom."

Five years into the project, and the destruction had finally ended. From that point on, things were going to get better...and they have. But that didn't mean things were easy--it just meant that the house was unwalled, unpainted, unheated, unplumbed, unelectrified, and undignified. But the destruction had ended--and reconstruction was beginning.

Since that time we have been slowly bringing this house back...adding many of the elements that were lost or destroyed and restoring those that remained. Since that time, we have crested the hill and could occasionally "see" the finished product. Since that time, the house has "teased" us with glimmers of hope that it will finally end and that we can get on with the other aspects of our lives. Yet at other times, when your skin is encrusted with fiberglass insulation and your nostrils are filled with crusty boogies, you wonder if you will ever finish.

It is easy to forget the progress you have made when you are still living in a "gutted" space. Occassionally (well, alright, daily) I feel as if we are not "getting anywhere." Yet when I see pictures of our progress, I realize that we have, indeed, traveled a long way....A journey of a thousand miles started years ago. We are close to finishing it. One more mile....