~Fixing Things~

It was going to be a simple project.  Hire a contractor to do a basic renovation on my kitchen to help increase interested buyers.  Well, that was the plan, anyway.  But the best laid plans of mice and men......

So, here is the deal.  I put my house up for sale over a year ago.  The community in which I live present has 3,200 homes, 200 which are in foreclosure.  This effectively kills my marketability.  My home is sweet, but who wouldn't buy a larger home for the same price I'm asking for?  Even if it's a fixer upper, for someone handy, it's a great bargain.

Speaking of handy - I am not.  Well, I'm wayyy better than I used to be, but I still don't know the first thing about plumbing (other than flushing, faucets and setting the dial on the washing machine and dishwasher) or electrical "stuff".  I could probably figure out how to spackel a dry wall, but I really have no burning desire to learn.  Renovating a kitchen requires all this, plus the demands of physical labor and a good level.  I come up short in all categories.

I figured if I renovated the kitchen, my home would attract more potential buyers.  A small investment to "move" the house.  You see, I bought the home to role model to my daughters that a woman could buy a home on her own and maintain it.  I have succeeded in that goal, but my new goal is almost the polar opposite:  now I want to live a simplier life, downsize, get rid of "stuff" and live more economically, in the area of my choosing.  Hence, I need buyers........the sooner the better.

But renovating is like a sink hole.   You step one foot in and man, you are going to get sucked in.  Suddenly I needed extra tile, extra maple wood flooring, dry wall/paint, etc. etc.  And talk about learning patience.........which I desperately need to do.........waiting for the granite to be delivered is akin to waiting for politicans to become completely honest.......yeah.  Point made.

Yet, I am sitting here wondering (as I often mull upon such thoughts), if only it were that simple to repair life or the damage inflicted in relationships:  Level it off, dry wall it, paint it over.  Suddenly this kitchen, which seems so complex, seems shockingly simple compared to the other fixes needed in my life.  Slapping some plaster on won't solve the problem.  Leaving the hole won't work, a bandaid is not large enough and simply waiting it out, pretending it doesn't exist, won't work either.  The only thing that can repair/heal/fix certain messes is hope/grace/communication.

Is there a belt with those tools on it?  An app for that? If I could capture and patent it, I'd be a millionaire.