From Les
In many ways, our adventure in this house makeover has
been similar to my trip to the remote area of the Congo in Africa back in 2008.
We’ve been without running water at times with limited ability to bathe with hot
water; drinking only bottled water (which is universal in the 3rd
world); strange and sporadic eating patterns; having only a grocery sack full
of clothes and personal items; wearing the same clothes for days on end; dodging
the debris strewn about; and last but not least, the never ending layers of
dust on everything. The only thing missing are the mosquito
nets.
But ahhh . . . today I’m thankful for those
non-negotiable comforts of living. You know what I mean -- your bed,
your pillow, your bathroom, your easy chair, your
coffee cup, and of course . . . your TV. Honestly, I wouldn’t have
added the TV to the list but today the satellite TV installer is here and our
five week fast from nighttime TV is over! I’m not going to guilt trip over this
too much, however, because while in Africa, I walked through the neighborhoods
where people live in their tiny mud huts with grass roof tops, bed sheets for
doors and the dirt for floors. I also noticed an occasional TV that neighbors
would gather around to watch a soccer match, though the country had only one
state run TV network and the reception was awful.
During this sabbatical we’ve typically hit the sack
about 9:30 each night since we can’t stay up late and watch the news. Having TV
surely falls into the category of things that are not beneficial to your health,
while getting to bed earlier and developing more realistic sleep patterns are
beneficial. But after all, who cares about sleep anymore?
We’re pumped because we’ll be able to watch the news
and weather, as well as our favorite comedy sitcoms, perhaps a little sports now
and then, some House Hunters International (which takes us to places we’ll
probably never see), and of course . . . some more home improvement
shows. Gad zooks. You’d think that would be the last thing we’d want to
watch considering the obvious, but we especially love the ones where people get
half way through their remodel /makeover project and hit the wall of shame.
They’ve either made a mess of things, ran short on money, or didn’t have the
know how to proceed, so they called in the experts to get them over the hump to
the finish line.
And so the moral of this story is to “Never fear.
There’s always nice people willing to help you find the way to the finish
line.” So take it easy. Pace yourself. Don’t let yourself get burned out.
Watch a little TV in comfort of your living room full of construction
materials and absent of furniture. J
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