Private: blog
end of summer
ugh.
jesse went back to school today. neither of us are happy about it. the students don’t go back until next week, so he’s got a few days to get ready and plan, but still: not excited.
summer 2017 was a bust. wow.
so okay. the second week of summer break, we had water damage in the house.
it doesn’t look that serious, but it was enough that the insurance put us up in a hotel for a few days. i actually liked that part, but it stressed jesse out. people came in and tore up the wall in our pantry/laundry room to get to the pipes, and then they tore up the floor in that room, some in the kitchen, and some in the master bathroom. the house was still livable, but the fans and dehumidifiers they brought in were huge and loud. we couldn’t even hear ourselves talk with all the equipment running. and it was impossible to keep ira from crawling all over everything. AND they generated a ton of heat. the house got HOT.
it’s august 9, and things still are not back to normal. everything just takes time. we wasted no time, but geez. yes. everything takes time. especially the insurance. …the insurance takes their sweet time. (that’s probably unfair for me to say; i don’t know what they do. but it feels like they take their sweet time.) the floors are still torn up in our pantry/laundry room, and the hole is still in the wall, too. we hope to be finishing that up this week or next. jesse is able to do the work (he repaired the kitchen floors), but we need someone to come help move the water heater before he goes any further with the floors.
we decided to completely renovate the bathroom. that was something we were planning to do 2-3 years from now ($$), but since the floors were already torn up, eh, may as well just do it now. a friend from church has been doing the work, and jesse has been working alongside him– learning new things and helping keep the pace up. they’re not done yet, but it’s coming along. very nicely. i’m excited.
so that’s that. thank you, water damage.
we also put a roof up over our back deck this summer. we actually had plans to do this one. a different friend from church did the work, and, again, jesse worked alongside him as well. the work is all done, and now it’s waiting to be painted. i guess the wood has to sit so many weeks before that can happen. i think we’re looking at september. i’m excited for this, too. i can’t wait to sit outside! don’t worry– i already got the citronella oil. NO BUGS! (right?)
okay. and that’s been our summer, and i’m not kidding. we didn’t even make it to the pool. not once. we did take a two-week break and visit iowa and ohio, so there was that. but while we’ve been home, there’s been work to do.
and i’m not complaining either. it’s truly been a series of unfortunate events for us (and i haven’t even mentioned the car repairs and then our car breaking down and then getting a minivan – lose, lose, LOSE), but we’ve managed to stay happy for the most part. i don’t know how jesse has kept his positive attitude, but i think mine stayed up because he’s been home. i love jesse being home. he has literally worked all summer long (building a roof, repairing floors, renovating a bathroom, AND all his responsibilities with the church), but still– just having him around makes a big difference in my mood.
…which makes me think: you can pray for me as the new school year begins. and until it ends. lol. i’ll be honest and unfair and dramatic: oftentimes i feel like a single parent. but that’s a different blog post. but really, though: pray.
we ended our summer with a little trip to charleston. we left monday and came back tuesday. lol. it was nice, though, and everyone had a great time. the kids loved the beach and had a fun time at the south carolina aquarium. we stayed in a bnb, and they loved that, too. jesse’s and my favorite part: black magic cafe. every time.
all right. here’s to the 2017/2018 school year. let’s do this.