CLARA....as "The Thinker"
Well, the bathroom remodel is very much underway. While I was away last week, basking in the Eastern Caribbean sun, sipping on fruity drinks, feasting on unlimited food, reading to my heart's content...etc., Tom was basically trying to kill himself trying to remodel the bathroom and have it ready as a nice "surprise" for me when I got home.
Thankfully, I think/hope he really believed me when I ask him NOT to kill himself doing the near-impossible. I would much rather return to have a sane(well, reasonably sane anyway) and LIVE husband than a brand new perfect bathroom. Besides, we've lived with the swirly blue faux marble vanity tops, blue sinks, shower, toilet and lovely blue-speckled tile floor for seventeen years.....what's a few more weeks/months/years anyway.
Also, he had a few other responsibilities to deal with...like
(1)taking care of a "Mommas girl" ten year old
(2)taking care of odds and ends in preparation for closing on our construction loan
for the new home we hope to begin building soon.
(3)checking in on his parents/seeing if they had any needs to be attended
(4)taking ten year old on an overnight backpacking trip with friend and friend's
Dad
(5)cleaning the house so that the housekeeper can clean the house
(6)helping to prepare for a birthday party on Sunday for our family's March
birthdays....MASON - 20, JENNY - 26 and Me - 50! An overwhelming THANK YOU
to Haskey, Laura, Blake and Jenny for taking care of most of this-especially
the YUMMY food.
(7)And running his business which FEEDS/CLOTHES and pays tuition for A LOT of
people.....just to name a FEW things off the top of my head.
So most of the remodel effort centered on demolition, moving some plumbing and electrical, buying fixtures, returning and repurchasing fixtures that would not fit in their designated positions. And the frustration in realizing that as in all remodels, the reality of the amount of work required to accomplish said update is always exponentially greater than the estimated/hoped-for amount of time AND money spent.
Returning home from my vacation, I was greeted with the sight of this.....on the driveway.
While some might be embarrassed and try to hide/cover this evidence that one does indeed live in "redneck" country, I found myself a bit choked up, feeling a little sentimental and saddened to be parting with this long-time, intimate and always trustworthy friend.
So many great thoughts/ideas have evolved and some flushed away while perched on this blue throne. Hours spent pondering of the mysteries of life here. For me, countless conversations with children through the closed door of our bathroom while trying to slip away for a moment's peace and privacy. No way to even BEGIN to calculate the amount of time spent reading occurring here. Reading selections from the Great Classics to Reader's Digest and even an occasional People Magazine.
Our family, ever on the quest to stretch the mind....
A lot of spiritual pondering and revelation here. MUCH prayer time spent here. Tom even read his Bible through the first time while sitting here.
How DOES one just "cast-away" such an important "fixture" in one's life?
I'm just not sure I can part with it. Maybe a yard/garden ornament over at the new house? (which, btw, construction begins next week) What about placing a big blue Gazing Ball on it? Or maybe just putting some dirt and fertilizer in it and planting a couple of plants?
Good-bye, old friend. We've shared so many memories.
May your future life at the dump be well.
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