Changing Priorities
Those of you who follow this blog know that I've been excited about getting our outdoor kitchen grilling area completed. Unfortunately, this project has been put on a back burner.
About two weeks ago, I found that the roofing material I need/want for this grilling area is out of stock. This is what happens when the building season is extremely short and places to buy supplies are even shorter. So, I need to wait until this product is back in stock. Who knows how long that will take?
In the meantime, I decided to do a "quick" project in Adam's old bedroom....
While he was home on leave... for a whole month... he was supposed to pack up all his stuff, toss out whatever he does not want anymore, and clean up his room a bit. Everything he owned fit into this tiny bedroom so this was by no means an overwhelming task for him nor was it an unreasonable task.
Sheila reminded him a few times that he needed to get started on his packing... he chose to just sit in front of his computer, like a brain dead zombie, playing some shoot 'em up video games... all day, every day... all night, every night... accomplishing nothing at all in the real world.
He didn't even exercise for his entire leave time which he should have been doing everyday since his life now depends upon being as physically fit as possible. And, let's face it and admit it... everyone's life is dependent upon being as physically fit as possible. (Even I, with my poor health, try to exercise everyday!) It is simply more dire for someone in the military to be in top physical conditioning for obvious reasons. So, he didn't even exercise at all while he was on leave for a month (something he should want to do considering his new career), why should I expect him to take care of all his belongings and clean out his room which is the socially acceptable, courteous and thoughtful thing to do?
I spent an entire week... an entire week... packing up a few of his things... the rest went into the trash... and, cleaning years of garbage, dirt, dust balls the size of tumbleweed, and gecko stench out of that bedroom. Then I started fixing holes and ripped wall surfaces. (Transparent tape should NEVER be used to hang posters/pictures on drywall... when trying to remove it, you also remove the paper layer of the drywall! Filling tiny thumb-tack holes in the wall is far easier than repairing the damage caused by transparent tape!)
To say I am annoyed, aggravated and disappointed is a gross understatement. Not only was this something I should not have had to do but it takes away my energy for other things. As you all know, I am already very short on energy and using up precious energy takes its toll on my health. Suffice it to say, I'm annoyed, aggravated and disappointed. (NOTE: Using up this energy is only making my overall health far worse at a time when I am already immersed in a period of recovery after a little bit of activity at the lake house.)
So... we changed gears and changed priorities...
The outdoor kitchen grilling area is on hold while we await building supplies. In the meantime, we hope to take advantage of this new "clean spot" in our house where Adam used to reside...
You know that game with the fifteen numbered tiles... arranged 4x4... with one empty square... and you need to move the numbered tiles around so you can get all the numbers in order? Adam's old bedroom is the new empty square in our home renovation puzzle.
We will create a new temporary bedroom for ourselves in this empty spot. Then, after emptying our bedroom stuff into this temporary bedroom, we will renovate our old bedroom (where we currently sleep) creating a spare room/hobby room. We always need a place to move stuff so we can renovate that newly emptied spot.
This newly created "empty square" will then house all the stuff (mostly building supplies and tools) that is in the area of the house that we want to renovate to create a new master bedroom suite. When that back area of the house is empty, then we can create a new master bedroom suite... finally!
That master bedroom suite renovation is a huge job though. We need a new roof over that area of the house... I have windows and doors to install... I have doors to build... I need to re-frame much of the area... new plumbing... new electrical... new insulation... etc.
Doing a quick renovation to Adam's old bedroom is an easy way to make a new "empty square" since I had already cleaned up that area about six years ago for Adam. Now I just cleaned it out again and need to clean it up... I just need to finish spackling... paint... re-install the desktop that needed to be sanded down... paint the trim, desktop and shelves... install some new carpeting... add some lighting... move our bedroom furniture into the space... hang some framed prints on the walls... Waa-Laa... a new temporary bedroom in a new clean spot!
Priorities constantly change. Unfortunately, the to-do list seems to get longer and longer with all these diversions...
About two weeks ago, I found that the roofing material I need/want for this grilling area is out of stock. This is what happens when the building season is extremely short and places to buy supplies are even shorter. So, I need to wait until this product is back in stock. Who knows how long that will take?
In the meantime, I decided to do a "quick" project in Adam's old bedroom....
While he was home on leave... for a whole month... he was supposed to pack up all his stuff, toss out whatever he does not want anymore, and clean up his room a bit. Everything he owned fit into this tiny bedroom so this was by no means an overwhelming task for him nor was it an unreasonable task.
Sheila reminded him a few times that he needed to get started on his packing... he chose to just sit in front of his computer, like a brain dead zombie, playing some shoot 'em up video games... all day, every day... all night, every night... accomplishing nothing at all in the real world.
He didn't even exercise for his entire leave time which he should have been doing everyday since his life now depends upon being as physically fit as possible. And, let's face it and admit it... everyone's life is dependent upon being as physically fit as possible. (Even I, with my poor health, try to exercise everyday!) It is simply more dire for someone in the military to be in top physical conditioning for obvious reasons. So, he didn't even exercise at all while he was on leave for a month (something he should want to do considering his new career), why should I expect him to take care of all his belongings and clean out his room which is the socially acceptable, courteous and thoughtful thing to do?
 |
| Adam's old bedroom... finally emptied of everything but tools. |
To say I am annoyed, aggravated and disappointed is a gross understatement. Not only was this something I should not have had to do but it takes away my energy for other things. As you all know, I am already very short on energy and using up precious energy takes its toll on my health. Suffice it to say, I'm annoyed, aggravated and disappointed. (NOTE: Using up this energy is only making my overall health far worse at a time when I am already immersed in a period of recovery after a little bit of activity at the lake house.)
So... we changed gears and changed priorities...
The outdoor kitchen grilling area is on hold while we await building supplies. In the meantime, we hope to take advantage of this new "clean spot" in our house where Adam used to reside...
You know that game with the fifteen numbered tiles... arranged 4x4... with one empty square... and you need to move the numbered tiles around so you can get all the numbers in order? Adam's old bedroom is the new empty square in our home renovation puzzle.
We will create a new temporary bedroom for ourselves in this empty spot. Then, after emptying our bedroom stuff into this temporary bedroom, we will renovate our old bedroom (where we currently sleep) creating a spare room/hobby room. We always need a place to move stuff so we can renovate that newly emptied spot.
This newly created "empty square" will then house all the stuff (mostly building supplies and tools) that is in the area of the house that we want to renovate to create a new master bedroom suite. When that back area of the house is empty, then we can create a new master bedroom suite... finally!
That master bedroom suite renovation is a huge job though. We need a new roof over that area of the house... I have windows and doors to install... I have doors to build... I need to re-frame much of the area... new plumbing... new electrical... new insulation... etc.
Doing a quick renovation to Adam's old bedroom is an easy way to make a new "empty square" since I had already cleaned up that area about six years ago for Adam. Now I just cleaned it out again and need to clean it up... I just need to finish spackling... paint... re-install the desktop that needed to be sanded down... paint the trim, desktop and shelves... install some new carpeting... add some lighting... move our bedroom furniture into the space... hang some framed prints on the walls... Waa-Laa... a new temporary bedroom in a new clean spot!
Priorities constantly change. Unfortunately, the to-do list seems to get longer and longer with all these diversions...
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