Rebuilding
We've been calling this summer "the summer of all the house projects." Truthfully, every summer has its share, but this summer seems to have MORE than its share.
Some we planned for: replacing the multi-paned picture windows, and in the process (we hope) stopping significant leaks; shoring up the landscaping that makes it possible to park cars near the house; rolling the new roofing paper over the bathroom at the camp to address wind damage.
Some we didn't plan for: the slow leak from the main 2nd-floor bathroom down the pipes into the basement, the existence of which my husband has suspected for some time (I guess it's good we found it) and the repair of which required cutting drywall, which has now been replaced and painted over; the birch branch that dropped seventy or so feet to clock the top of the car, creating several large dents and taking out the roof rack.
OK, so the camp and the car aren't "house." But they were also projects.
All of these projects have required things apart and putting them back together--sometimes in the same way, sometimes in a different way. We hope, always, that we are rebuilding in a better, safer, stronger way.
And yes, I'm also talking about revising.
I've taken a small slice of time from work on a nonfiction collection to revise a novel. I'm pleased with how it's going. A lot of what I've written is gone, but I've learned what I needed to from writing it. Although I'm sad to see it go, I'm also glad to relax into the story I want to tell--one I think only I can tell in this way.
I'm also very grateful that the rebuilding required by our house projects is minimal, though it hasn't felt like it at times. But in this season of fires, hurricanes, and floods--which apparently is only beginning--we are the lucky ones.
Some we planned for: replacing the multi-paned picture windows, and in the process (we hope) stopping significant leaks; shoring up the landscaping that makes it possible to park cars near the house; rolling the new roofing paper over the bathroom at the camp to address wind damage.
Some we didn't plan for: the slow leak from the main 2nd-floor bathroom down the pipes into the basement, the existence of which my husband has suspected for some time (I guess it's good we found it) and the repair of which required cutting drywall, which has now been replaced and painted over; the birch branch that dropped seventy or so feet to clock the top of the car, creating several large dents and taking out the roof rack.
OK, so the camp and the car aren't "house." But they were also projects.
All of these projects have required things apart and putting them back together--sometimes in the same way, sometimes in a different way. We hope, always, that we are rebuilding in a better, safer, stronger way.
And yes, I'm also talking about revising.
I've taken a small slice of time from work on a nonfiction collection to revise a novel. I'm pleased with how it's going. A lot of what I've written is gone, but I've learned what I needed to from writing it. Although I'm sad to see it go, I'm also glad to relax into the story I want to tell--one I think only I can tell in this way.
I'm also very grateful that the rebuilding required by our house projects is minimal, though it hasn't felt like it at times. But in this season of fires, hurricanes, and floods--which apparently is only beginning--we are the lucky ones.