DIY Life

Since we moved to our home in the Midwest we've only done the minimum to keep the place livable. Then last year, sick of looking at old wood bookshelves, we started a painting project that stalled out over the winter. When we moved all the shelves out and saw that the walls behind needed some maintaining and the fireplace had some gaps that needed filling, a DIY family was born.

We are learning as we go. We've bought most of the Black and Decker library for home repair and improvement and have bought our first circular saw and orbital sander. I am finding that there is no such thing as a small project on a house since everything is connected. Take our our bookshelves for example. There was gap behind the fireplace, then the walls needed painting; painting for the ceiling, trim, and windows. The kitchen needs updating. Then we discover rusty nails peeking out on the ceiling. What's above? The bathroom. Hmm. a tile has popped out next to the bathtub from a water-damaged subfloor. What's the extent of the damage? Now the toilet is sitting in the shower as we consider if the leak could be coming from there. It might be time to call in plumber.

Funny thing though. instead of feeling overwhelmed, I am energized. I know we can do this. Well, most of it. I have a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence and some pride.

But this isn't just about me, no, there are many positive outcomes from this passion. This will improve our home value or save it from declining too much. Secondly, we are teaching our sons by example. Neither Fat Tony nor I had much exposure to work around the house in our childhoods.. Now that I am a grown-up and dealing with our first house, I believe it's a necessary life skill, like doing math in your head. If you can't do it, you put yourself at the mercy of those who can. On a more abstract level, you need to be able to critically evaluate the world around you and have the confidence to change things as necessary. Without that confidence, you are just a whiner.

We do need appropriate activities for the boys to help with. That can be tricky. The boys had earned themselves a serious grounding and it is a challenge monitoring them. But if I may say so, today was moderately successful. I had us working as a team and getting things done. In fact, our older son was especially helpful and full of initiative. He even said that he feels strong when he completes a task. He got a day off of his grounding with that comment. He's probably learning how to be a charmer as well.