Cozy House
When my husband and I started building our new home last year, we weren’t sure we had another one in us. We’ve both build homes before – but we’re in our fifties now and are a little more tired than we used to be for tackling a total DIY job. Luckily we had help from our fourteen year old daughter – what a trooper – and a kind neighbor who topped off what we call our ‘geriatric building crew,’ since he’s almost 70. But I have to admit, this has been really, really, really hard.
Sometimes I’ve likened our project to running a marathon every day. We’ve poured 80 yards of concrete, and I’d say that concrete is the hardest part of a construction job, hands down. But now we have 9 foot, concrete walls on the outside, two concrete walls on the inside, and a roof. It’s time for a rest.
Toward the end, I was so tired and sore every night that I was sure I couldn’t go on. I usually have enough determination and optimism to keep going, but I was beat. So, I put lots of essential oils on before bed, bundled up to survive sleeping in a trailer when it’s freezing outside, and prayed for mercy! And somehow, when morning rolled around, I would wake up and think, “I feel okay.” It was nothing less than a miracle every morning and I was able to keep going until we finally got frozen out and had to retreat for the winter.
I used to have this for my email signature: “I don’t believe in miracles – I count on them.” I’m glad it’s still working.
Snowshoe adventure with my girls
P.S. All of that hard work put me in lots better shape … so much so, that I actually survived a three hour showshoe expedition with my daughters and granddaughter.
