Home Work
It’s interesting work refurbishing rooms well lived in. The rooms in question were occupied by my son, who now has a place of his own, after many years of helping me during his mom’s illness and after her passing. I’ve already painted one room, and I’m now working on the bathroom where water has proven a formidable enemy. I’ve painted, replaced baseboards, tightened up moldings, and all that’s left to do is caulk.
I could have paid to have the work done, and my son offered to help take care of it. But there’s something restorative about working with your hands and putting some of your sweat into the equity of your home. On one hand, it reminds me of my younger days when I had more time than money. Maybe that’s the case again. On the other hand, it’s a good feeling to walk into a nice-looking room and know that you personally made it so.
The downside is that my eye is now trained to spot defects and that certainly adds to the scope of work. But anything worth doing is worth doing well. So, I just take my time and try to catch and correct my mistakes, while trying to avoid making those mistakes in the first place. And there’s more videos than I imagined about how best to paint. Of course, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but I just tell myself there’s no deadline to get this done. It’s a lot like life, all I need to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other, and eventually the work will be done.