Farmhouse Rehab

When I tell people we're rehabbing a 1912 farmhouse the response is always the same: "Oooh how fun!" I used to say that too--in the before times...

Indeed there has been some fun...and also some craziness--dead animals in the walls, a bevy of bats living in the attic for 25+ years, an entire septic rebuild, an old wood floor buried under the concrete slab to name just a few of the high points. Toward the end of October (Two months beyond when we had originally planned to move in), I felt like I might shatter into a million pieces if another contractor showed up with a surprise bill or one more thing needed replaced. I was stretched to my wits end. Add homeschooling a couple of kids and COVID-19 quarantine restrictions and you can imagine how much sleep I was getting.

Looking back now as I sit warm and cozy in my bedroom, I am astounded at how well we all made it through honestly. Yes we are still paying the bills and no there are still no doors on any of the closets nor baseboard trim nor curtains nor a scrap of landscaping in place, but we are showering & sleeping in here people--we did it!

Seriously it was extremely trying at times but when I walk around here now I can see my Dad pulling out galvanized pipe & cleaning up load after load of debris with the tractor bucket, my mom sweeping up insulation for weeks on end, my college-aged girls pulling down wallpaper and tearing out cabinets, my little ones painting window ledges, my brother & our friends Matt & Amber putting in insulation and caulking windows, my husband installing our clawfoot tub and me pulling a dead squirrel off the end of my shop vac. We built this house dammit! We're still building this house really, and there is a special sweetness to living in a place built by everyone you love, piece by piece.

One day during one of my meltdowns (probably September or so about the time the electrician was submitting his bill), Dad said to me, "your grandchildren will learn to walk on the floors that you built." This was just so lovely to me--classic Dad--getting to the heart of it.

Yes this project was WAY more than I thought it would be and as I've mentioned, there is much more to come, but I am so much better for it already. As I move firmly into middle age I am keenly aware of the ticking of the clock. I have always wanted to be a bad ass chick who can do stuff, and low and behold I am steadily turning into that chick. I guess you might say this house is building me too. Thanks for that.