What I Could Have Learned

It was finally move-in day. After waiting for what seemed like months (literally only 3 1/2 weeks), we were preparing several friends' vehicles, including two extended bed trucks, to drive the short distance from our apartment to our first house. We were packed to the brim, with nearly everything labeled for what was sure to be a smooth unpacking process (insert obvious sarcasm here), and were prepared to begin our lives together.

We were excited beyond description, but beneath the elated and jovial facade, I was anxious and nervous. I realized, upon considering what was immediately going to need to be "done" to the house, that I had no idea what to do to upkeep, fix or improve a house.

And this, loyal readers, is the objective of this blog.

I grew up in a household in which my father could have done (and most often did) anything in and around the house. There are only two things that I don't remember him doing while I was growing up: redoing the roof, and installing vinyl siding. I'm sure he could have done them if he had some help, but it might have taken him longer than he or my mother wanted to; and I, the prodigal son, was, at that time, not interesting in anything that had to deal with home remodeling, renovation or improvement. I was blind to the fact that one day I would need to know how to do these things and was probably also ignorant to the fact that the majority of what I would be doing in my house would be while following the instructions of my father who most likely taught me these exact things years ago when I was too preoccupied or disinterested to care.

Standing there beside the packed trucks, I immediately regretted my years of naivety and disinterest when it came to home remodeling. I was as unprepared for a new home as most people are for a surprise pregnancy. I felt caught off guard, embarrassed, and a bit angry at myself for not knowing I would one day need to know these things. My worst fears were confirmed when we began moving our things into the house and my wife said those dreaded first words, "it's time to paint!"

See next post for more on painting, but look below for the pictures from the move-in day at the house. You'll see how awful it looked when we moved in, the power lines running throughout the background and I'll be sure to upload before and afters to display just how far I, and we, have come since the day these pictures were snapped.

Happy viewing.