Themeattics

Few things are more important than finding a home and working at it constantly to make it resonate with deep memories and fulfill deep longings.

Thomas Moore

Summer is coming.

Yes, I know, the only thing I like more than making references my kids don’t understand is making plays on really dated references. The point stands, though. We’re coming up on the kids’ last week of school which means their lives – and mine, tangentially – are about to go through their annual changes. No more early morning alarms, no more heavily enforced structure during all aspects of the day. I’ll be the true old guy of the house, going to bed earlier than them pretty regularly. I’ll have to shift my work outs into the living room, as well, so I don’t wake up the missus. Things just getting turned around all over the place.

But, with all that expected change comes a lot of positives, not the least of which is we all (And by “all” I mean my wife and I) get the desire to tackle some home reno. Not that we haven’t been at it for a bit, but with the school year out she’s got more time and energy to put into figuring out what she wants done so that I can get it done.

The first couple of years in this house have been a bit of a blur, if I’m being honest. We showed up just as the Covid train left the station and it’s been a roller coaster since. Now that things are, at last, back to sanity, and my job has really kicked into gear, we’ve seemed to finally hit our stride and achieved a bit of a baseline state of being. Which is great, as it leads to us knowing where the deficiencies are to get to tackling.

This house already feels like a home, there’s no doubting that. It’s also the first time I’ve viewed a house as one I don’t plan to leave. Everywhere I’ve lived prior to this there’s been the nagging feeling that the place was temporary and, self-fulfilling prophecy or not, that’s been the case. Not anymore. I’ve got no desire to move again… unless I just so happen win a lotto that I’m not playing so I can spend a couple mil on several-hundred-thousands of acres in Wyoming. Small goals, no?

With the desire to stay now firmly ensconced, what comes next are the improvements. Yes, this house is great, but there are always ways to make it more our own. Décor, layout, functionality, storage – sky’s the limit. We’ve both know there’s lots to do, but we’ve not really had the mental wherewithal to sit down and map it all out. This summer seems to be the changing point there. We’ve got storage plans, room plans, organization plans, donation plans – and all of those are just the starting blocks. As we start to put things together, more’s bound to show its head. Every step will be one small one on the way toward really making this place ours.

And, while it’s going to be more work in the short term, bring it on. I can’t wait to start getting all these ducks in a row. Onward, one project at a time.

---

Not only am I running out of space for things that are built, I’m running out of space to build things. Perfect timing for this article, no? Almost like there was a catalyst for it. Imagine that.