It used to be, a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away, that weekends in the Jones household used to be a pleasant relaxing few hours spent exploring the land in which we live. We've always enjoyed jumping into the car and going somewhere at the weekend..... driving sometimes hours to see something we've never seen before, enjoying spending time together investigating new places and new things. We were rarely, if ever, at home during the weekend, always out and about doing something.
Since we moved into this house though, weekends have become a time for DIY. A non stop week-after-week round of DIY that's been going on for the year and a half that we've been here and will probably go on for at least another year and a half after this. It is a predictable round of get up on Saturday, do lots of DIY in the morning, then 'need' to go to Home Depot for extra bits and pieces, come back, tidy up, finish, go to bed, get up Sunday, 'need' to go to Home Depot for a Power Tool (when will we have all of the power tools known to man and stop needing to go and buy more?? it must be soon?), come back, play with power tool for a while, do lots more work, tidy up, leave it for another week.
For the first several months I really resented it. I hated being stuck in the house every weekend, looking after the kids on my own after looking after them all week on my own. I hated that all the work needed doing in the first place and that we couldn't go off and spend family time together. And I hated (and still hate) how long it seems to take to get each job done which is nobodies fault, just the way it has to be when poor G is doing it all by himself every weekend!
I was thinking this morning though, that it's now become such a part of life that I just don't resent it any more. I quite enjoy hanging out in the house, pottering around without committment. It helps that Harry is that much older now and will happily play with his brother in the playroom for long periods of time - not demanding the constant attention that 1 yr olds do. I actually get to spend time tidying up, making the place look half decent, relaxing, helping G, and appreciating the work that G is doing.
It's funny, actually, how you quickly take for granted the 'new' stuff that is in your home. The kitchen, which used to be an absolutely appallingly horrendous filthy disgusting 50 yr old falling apart nightmare, is now a glorious brand new shiny modern mecca. I need to appreciate it every time I go in there lest I forget the work that went in to building it, and how vile it was before. Same goes with the current project, the downstairs hallway. When we moved in it was this vile faux-wood panel clad dark and dingy corridoor with office style polystyrene hung ceiling with bits flaking off and yellow in colour. And all of the 9 doors which went off it were nasty dark brown 60's slabs with nasty dark brown frames. It's now a bright airy wood floored and halogen spotlighted area with proper walls and one by one, modern white doors and door frames.... making an *enormous* difference to the look of the house. I will post photographs when it's done. I just hope it gets done soon as I'm beginning to get anxious that this poor baby won't have a bedroom because the next project can't start until this current one is finished!
Posted by katie at February 4, 2007 02:35 PM