Bearing sledgehammers and power tools, we entered into
Hubbard Home yesterday ready to take our spreadsheets and middle-of-the-night
conversations to the walls. Before entering, Ben gently reminded me that “It always gets worse before it gets better.”
I was hesitant that Hubbard had any margin to actually “get worse,” as the
initial improvements from yesterday made it only look better! However, as we took
down the panel board in the master bedroom to discover a painted bull on the
wall complete with bullet marks through the horns, I realized that what lies behind the naked eye does in fact have the potential to get worse. Only moments
after standing with arms crossed and puzzled looks in front of the bull, our
neighbor Phyllis stopped in to tell us our former homeowner Old Man Turner
actually housed 148 guns in that room. We are hoping that perhaps there are
some stored in the walls that we will find for house renovation cash… but so
far no luck.
After our discovery of Mr. Bull, it confirmed our decision
to extend the master closet and flip the entrance to the bathroom from the
hallway to the bedroom. These are thoughts we had originally tossed around, but
because of our timeframe and funds, we didn’t know how deep we could go into
the hole of fixer-upper. Let’s just say that Mr. Bull has brought me luck in providing
the perfect set-up for a larger closet!
Upon buying this home, we knew it was an adventure of unknowns
that would unfold as time moved forward. There was part of me that dreaded the renovation
process because of the unknowns and the fear that everything will take much
longer than expected – which pushes back our finish line, tardies our move-in
date, which ultimately gets closer and closer to Baby Time. (Do you feel my blood
pressure rising?!) However, as Ben hammered down beams, sawed off drywall, and crowbarred
the built-ins, I realized how fun the process is to see unfold. Each piece of
the demo makes it more exciting and makes the vision feel that much more
attainable.
The process feels like chaos right now – it feels like a
distant future we might never see. There is one remaining toilet in our home held
together only by the beams and studs that surround its future home. When it
feels impossible, I take a deep breath and remember to trust. I lean into Ben,
my best teammate, and know that him and I are in it together. I am so grateful
for his partnership and support – (and also his hunky demo vibes.) I would go
anywhere with him and I’m so glad that this is where we are going together.
