Dearest Rachel –
I haven’t been telling you about what’s been going on at the house this past week, even though it’s probably the most momentous bit of news for the rest of the year pertaining to it; we’re finally done with the remodeling process.
For now.
The painters have come, starting Tuesday, and they have gone, leaving both rooms (and the little hallway between the laundry room and the sunroom) cleaner, brighter and whiter. The new doors are also now the color of the new cabinets (although Tim had advised me against that as being ‘too dark’)
And while you might needle me a bit about it being just a little too ‘matchy-matchy,’ as you would put it, I think it looks pretty good.
As they were wrapping up their work today, they were apologizing for the mess and inconvenience they caused by leaving dropcloths and other paraphernalia around the two rooms between days (“Some people want those picked up each night; it eats into the amount of time we take on the job like you wouldn’t believe”). Considering the amount of chaos we’ve been living in off and on since late in May, I could barely keep from laughing at the thought that such an apology would even be necessary.
But I guess some clients aren’t so easily satisfied; so, what’s alien to me is de rigueur to another, and what one might consider ‘insisting on my rights’ simply strikes me as being imposing and overbearing. We lived with what we had for so long, it’s just amazing to me to see it finally complete… at least, for now.
Yes, eventually I’m going to start in on making changes to the main section of the house, from the sunroom to the dining area to the family room. They’ll get a new paint job (including patching the ceiling, getting rid of those water spots that have been there for decades), new carpeting, most likely new furniture here and there, a new television setup. But not right now. We’ve made enough changes for now; it’s time to sit back and enjoy it for the moment. There’s no need even to consider those changes just yet; if you’re constantly planning your next move, you can’t enjoy where you are.
And we have come a long way (indeed, I’m pretty sure Daniel might assert that we’ve come too far too quickly, in fact); it’s time we just pause, take it all in, and appreciate what we have. Maybe we can even take advantage of it; I’m still wondering if we can host Thanksgiving on the reduced scale we’re left with at this point. We’ve got the oven space, after all.
Anyway, I just thought you’d like to know what we’ve managed to do (or, more to the point, what we’ve managed to have done – I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this myself) with the place since you’ve been gone. Maybe you’d be pleased? Maybe you’d wish you could have been a part of it? I’ll never know.
Anyway, it’s as done as it’s going to be for a while, and we’re going to do what we can to enjoy it, even as we eventually consider what specifically to do next.
Until we do, honey, keep an eye out for us, and wish us luck; we’re going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 