What A Difference Nine Years Makes

It has been a couple of years since Mike and I worked on a home improvement project together. I believe the last one was finishing the bathroom in our previous house before we moved. In our last house we did a lot of projects together. Usually it was me coming up with (obsessing about) an idea and Mike helping me bring it to fruition.

One of the first projects we did together (and almost the last) was the infamous swing set of 2001. I was 8.5 months pregnant with Bev and in nesting mode. We decided that before she came we would get Andrew a swing set. We bought it for $350 at Toys-R-Us. We had done our shopping--it was the best price we could find for everything that we wanted. We also got a purple turtle sand box. I had visions of happy children playing blissfully in the yard. I hadn't invisioned the "domestic" that would occur during the building of said playset.

We didn't have all of the instructions, and the ones we did have had been "roughly" translated into English from Chinese (I think it was Chinese.) I was great with child, so I did what I could. I sorted all of the nuts and bolts and helped give instruction. Apparently my "instruction" was deemed "bossy." I make no bones about the fact that I am (and I am searching here for the right word) shall we say capable (I think he said controlling and perfectionistic.) He actually didn't call me a perfectionist until after assembling one side we came up with several extra bolts. That concerned me. I wanted it to be secure. He wanted it to be secure, but also completed. In retrospect, I do think that the manufacturers just threw in a bunch of stuff and called it a kit.

Anyhoo, what started out as a project that we thought we could complete on a Saturday morning ended up being finished in the dark with the help of work lights late Saturday night.

I didn't think we would ever be able to work on something like that again. But we worked it out. I'm not saying that we didn't have our issues on other projects, but they were so much more pleasant. With the help of his grandpa, his brothers and some of my family we finished our basement in the last house. My dad and I put in the sprinker system (Mike had back surgery.) I repainted every room in the house (Mike helped move all of the furniture.) We designed and built a playhouse in the basement. Grandpa helped us build Bev a kitchen and he helped Mike build cabinets in our laundry room. Mike and I built storage for a mud room. We designed and planted our yard.

I have been feeling the project bug--I get it every year at this time. I came up with a plan for a wall-to-wall desk in the craft room. I got some money and gift cards for Christmas for the project and we finally had a free Saturday, so we headed out to Home Depot. I had purchased three short filing cabinets to use as the bases and we were going to install a counter top. I told Mike what I wanted and we worked together to find the best way to do it.

We completed the project in total peace. I don't know exactly what has changed. Obviously we have learned to work well together. Although I still want things to be as close to perfect as possible, I think we are both more mellow. It might help too that I tell him how attractive I find sawdusty hair and clothes.

The wall was not totally straight, so we used a sander to make it fit. I didn't want to sand in the house, so we had to take it in and out about 20 times to get it right. He didn't complain once.

The finished project.

This project went so well, I am already making plans for the next.