note to readers: with this blog i promise you the good, the bad and the ugly. let’s just go ahead and file this post away in the last category…

josh and i have entered the how-much-longer-can-the-construction-possibly-last? phase of our project. i’m manic depressive about it all and vacillate between awe and anguish. seeing the fruit of paper plans and year-long, wine-fueled brainstorming invigorates, especially since we’re doing so much of the work ourselves—yet as the project lingers the space’s rawness grates on my nerves. i feel a bit overwhelmed by the marathon, not unlike a mother with a mewling newborn, perfect and petite—who poops every 20 minutes. bittersweet exhaustion abounds. josh asks when we’re going to have sex again. take a number, mister. i’m busy with what feels like our fifth child. and how does he have so much energy left over at the end of the day anyway?! ;)

was that too much? that may have been too much…

after a few construction cram sessions, josh and i decided we needed a change of scenery and the container store is having their annual elfa sale. booyah!, right? armed with new years resolutions and ample enthusiasm, we entered the store arm-in-arm to tackle an overdue situation: organization of the kids’ 6-foot, reach-in closet. when three people (little or otherwise) share a room, efficient storage solutions are critical. i can personally attest to this because we have lived a year without them.

perhaps i should have straightened up the kids’ space for these pictures, but, well, this is slice of life stuff…

fortunately, the container store showcases three 6-foot, reach-in closet configurations and promises boundless opportunities for a more blissful existence. i was pumped! the buzz wilted a bit during the hour-and-a-half wait, but as i shook the designer’s hand i envisioned spencer dressing himself and knew the spent time and money would be worth it. my hopes were dashed moments later when the designer apologetically explained that the container store’s configurations wouldn’t actually fit our space because their numbers were admittedly a little off. their system actually measures 6’ 3/4”. the damned devil’s in the details, huh? i lost my noodles right there in the store. i pointed to the signs touting 6’ reach-in closets and asked the salespeople exactly what they thought that meant.

dejected—and before i could be ejected—josh, bless him, issued a code red and rushed me immediately to my happy place, home depot, where i could find composure and summon inner-balance. i walked around the electrical section and cried a little about the unfairness of life (disclosure: in retrospect i may have been acting a bit theatrical.). sharing this sort of meltdown with a husband who actually witnesses true human suffering as an international journalist on the war beat is especially dicey. i know i must have seemed ridiculously shallow and sheltered to mourn the loss of an organizationally creative vision…

but today i realize that yesterday’s unraveling was about more than a closet or misleading signage. i’m tired. i believe that an easy win will calm my disheveled mind and help restore the patience—and sanity—needed to push through the final—and promisingly hectic—weeks of this project.

so in the spirit of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps, here’s my to-do list this week (i’ll cross’em off as i knock’em out.):
1 | install two 4” recessed lights over the front porch and a gfi outlet.
2 | install one recessed 3” light above a dining room built-in-to-be.
3 | install two 4” recessed lights, their corresponding switch and three outlets in the pantry.
4 | install one 4” recessed light, its corresponding switch (researching door-activated switches) and two outlets in the coat closet.

an electrician could tackle this list in a day. let’s pray i’m finished by friday.

outstanding construction items:
1 | design and build (or have built) a cabinet in the dining room to house electronics.
2 | have drywall repaired.
3 | paint drywall.
4 | have hardwood floor patched.
5 | refinish hardwood floor.
6 | have three interior doors and trim installed and painted.
7 | design and build (or have built) pantry and coat closet shelving.

for now the bathroom and its plumbing will have to wait. from the outside all will seem well, but a tiny construction zone will be lurking within… and that’s pretty symbolic.