Demo day is here! Am i really saying this? The bangs and booms in my head are louder than the ones promised outside today. After ten months of hoopla over architectural plans, endless revisions, gradient maps, structural hullabaloos, environmental compliance, and complete conformations to any and every ludicrous mandate from the size of stapler pins to county induced setbacks, we couldn't dare to dream up this day.
Home run? (pun intended) Not yet. But there's light at the end of this tunnel. Once the laundry room (64 sq ft or so) is razed to the ground and inspected, we may finally be owners of that elusive and enchanted document known as the building permit. Ha! It's a distinct possibility now.
Getting to the demo was a trek all its own. We managed to dodge the bullet on pulling out our gas meter during construction. However, we must go underground with our power cables. Hence power meter was pulled, temp pole erected, and electricity swung back into the house via temp. Rigmarole, you say; I agree. Next step: asbestos clearance for the demo area leading to a bay area air quality job number generation for demo. Yup, that's how the weeks add up and the next thing you know, it's been ten months since this circus began.
I started to pack up stuff last week: mom's closet, laundry room, books and curios in the family room. N and I suddenly experienced construction remorse that echoed T's sentiments: "Do we have to remodel?" I felt sentimental enough to declare that I'd built more memories at 789 and had many more amazing times in my two years here than during our 7 years at Harvester, That's when N reminded me that T was born at Harvester and that we had many unparalleled memories there. Agreed. But 789 is dear now and I'm attached deeply.
I'm excited, as prepared as I can be at this point in time (knowing the little I know), and not a bit nervous. N and I have already started arguing about everything from our choice of kitchen counters to floors to lights to wall colors. So I know we're on the right track. This is what a normal relationship looks like when a couple remodels. We're just textbook perfect. So cheers to this year of building our new home! Cheers to the journey and to the destination!
