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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

when i was 18

and trav was 19, we decided to flip a house.  in merritt.  2 + 1/2 hours from my parents home in langley, where we were living at the time.  it was a mere 700 square-foot crack-shack.  but it was our 700 square-foot crack-shack.  for about 7 months, every single friday after work, we would get in trav's beat up honda civic and road trip it to merritt.  and all weekend, every weekend, we would work, like really WORK as fast as we could on as tight of a budget as we could.  meals consisted of splitting a bag of doritos or sometimes, if i was feeling all fancy-like, i'd heat up some alphaghetti on trav's portable little propane burner that he won on his first company camping trip.    

of all the drives on the coquihalla that we did, i remember our final one coming home after we sold the merritt house, so vividly.  i remember i was wearing my pink super mario tee.  i remember travis had the biggest grin across his face the entire time.  we kept high-fiving and screaming, "WE DID IT!"  it was then, that trip home, that i knew we could do anything if we were doing it together.

so since the merritt house, we've completely renovated another home.  this time we actually live in it.. surprisingly, not easier.  our century-old home has definitely had it's own set of challenges from rat problems to leaks to being snowed in, to struggling through a hard winter with no heat and single paned windows.  tack on that travis has been laid off numerous times from the downward spiral in the construction industry, vehicles have been stolen, our big pup slurp was diagnosed with a horrible disease that took his life too quickly.  we've even nearly lost some relationships with friends and family just from the distance.  and all the while, we've been pretty much alone, trying to renovate.

i can't lie.  it has been so.  emotionally.  HARD.

BUT!  it is finally finished and we are prepared to sell!  ...or, we were.  we recently got hit with a hard blow - basically, the market is poo.  even with all the work we've done (i will be posting pictures sooon!), it's just not our time.

i could've cried for days when i found out.  and normally, i would.. i've gotten pretty good at it.  but instead, i have only really had this overwhelming feeling of peace.  regardless of selling, we did it.  another home.  with more hardships than i've ever experienced.  and somehow, we love each other even more.

so what's the plan?  well, as of right now, we are going to enjoy our house and our lives like never before.  but don't think that means we're sitting still.. ;)

[this was 20 minutes of yesterday evening, hanging out behind a convenient store.  so hip + happenin'.]



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