Bless This Home

As a follow up to further explain our house situation I realized I could actually SHOW you guys what I mean when I say my home is a glorified tent.

Our home is the poster child for the phrase “looks can be deceiving” or “don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” From the front it looks 100% normal.

You even walk through the front door and nothing looks amiss (except for maybe the massive messes my children leave in their wake…). 

To the right of the bathroom is our bedroom door. You can see the towel on the floor keeping cold air from getting inside as much as possible. Open the door and you see this.

This is my bedroom.

The house was built in 1925 when split master bedrooms were a thing (a room for the man, a room for the lady…). Siding was taken off outside and all the lath and plaster was taken off inside. The holes are from sometime in the mid-century when they needed to replace insulation. They took off siding and blew in new insulation through the holes from the outside. Innovation! Now I have little sunshine holes!

Also, close to the back wall you can see the main broken beam from the roof. It’s so small, but I will show you the outside later and you can see why that whole part of the roof has to be taken off and replaced.

Let’s go upstairs.

It’s completely gutted up there except for the hallway.

Those two rooms above and below are the boys playroom and bedroom.

We also have the upstairs bathroom. Danny’s greatest joy lately is showing people that do come over that there is a toilet in our bathtub. It’s the little things you have to find joy in right?

Next up! Back downstairs to our laundry room!

Our main living room/dining room area, kitchen, Kyle’s sister’s room and main floor bathroom were unaffected by the tree. When demo started, we moved in with my mom hoping that everything would go quickly and smoothly, but unfortunately it didn’t. We were there for 2 months when we decided to move back home while things were stalled and set up sleep arrangements in our finished basement. We have a bedroom down there which my husband and I use and then just set up twin mattresses in the living area which the boys use. Gratefully we also have laundry units in the basement that we have been able to use.

It’s livable but unfortunately the cold air can’t keep from seeping into those holes and cracks and infiltrating the rest of the home with the brisk fall weather. Soon we will pack up once more and move into a furnished rental (that our insurance will pay for) until this whole thing is over and done with. Also, the rental is 1500 sq ft, so this is definitely the time to embrace minimalism like never before!

Our backyard makes me laugh, it actually looks much better than this when the random toys and balloons are put away, but that tarp is the funniest part. It covers the entry to the basement and because they removed the patio awning, there is nothing to redirect rain from seeping into our basement. After  having to shop-vac water that trickled down the steps a couple of times, we set up that lovely tarp.

And yes, at night it most definitely looks like some scene from a horror film.

All in all, I am working on letting go. Letting go of the frustration of this process, of my need for perfection, of trying to keep it all together. I am working on leaning into the chaos, and trying to make sense of it. And maybe I don’t. Maybe it is just this interesting part of our family history that I never quite understand. Or maybe it’s all just an exercise in patience and recognizing strength. Either way, I have my people by my side and at the end of the day, that’s the perspective that I MUST choose. Otherwise, I may very well become engulfed by the chaos.