So far, no flooding. We are neither financially nor emotionally stable enough for a natural disaster right now. Doug is very busy doing computer repair and maintenance all over town. It keeps him too busy to do any home repair or renovation so we continue living in a house that looks like, well, imagine if the house in “The Money Pit” had been a middle income 3-bedroom home instead of a mansion. Now imagine living with the house completely gutted and in the process of being rebuilt. But, imagine that no progress happens for months and months on end. Imagine the frustration when you beg and plead with family and friends for help, not money, but elbow grease – “you hold this up while I nail it in” help and having everyone laugh and criticize your efforts. Doug has done some remarkable renovation over here. He took an ugly red room and made it a beautiful pale pink with a complete closet renovation. A tiny room that didn’t even have a closet has been turned into an outer space fantasy with a very nice sized closet. The upstairs bath is no longer a pepto bismol nightmare, but is a dreamy blue rubber duck shrine. Yes, the tub still needs replacing, but everything else in the room is new from the foundation wood to the sink and cabinet. The upstairs interior has been almost completely replaced, from the drywall to the light fixtures. Yet, projects that are just too overwhelming, like the exterior of the house, the grounds and the disaster-area of a basement have sat unchanged for three years. The mountains of stuff in rubbermaid buckets stacked all over the basement make me complain and gripe like a horrible fishwife. So, Doug gets depressed and frustrated and overwhelmed by it all. I suppose I could try hiring the illegal immigrants who sit in the parking lot of a home improvement store every morning waiting to be picked up for day labor jobs in exchange for cash. What Doug needs right now (besides help) is encouragement and a boost to his self esteem. I love you Doug. You have done so much for us and we don’t do enough for you. Please be proud of your accomplishments and stop regreting how your time is spent.
“I have no regrets because I know I did my best — all I could do.” Midori Ito