Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This

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Last week, I’d mentioned that sometimes working on a house in the hot Georgia sun gets to the point where you’re delirious and the mailbox starts talking smack.

Well, apparently the mailbox got what it deserved. Because last night, I came home to this:

In hindsight, I’m really glad I didn’t paint it white to match the new house trim color like I’d planned. Because then I’d be mad for wasting my time painting it instead of just being frustrated that I now have to postpone other DIY plans this weekend in favor of digging a giant hole in the ground because some inconsiderate dill hole ran over my mailbox.

If I’ve learned anything in the last year and a half of owning a fixer upper, it’s that there are going to be days like this. Days where you can either laugh at the situation and look at it rationally, like where the mailbox post probably had some rot or termite damage or something which would have made it more likely to fall over, and it probably only needed a nudge before it fell. It was just only a matter of time, and mailboxes aren’t that expensive to replace.

But some days, like the day I had before I got home, and thinking happily that I’ll finally finish up the rest of the front window trim work so I can move on to something else, and rounding the corner approaching the house, and then seeing my mailbox gone, and then realizing that it’s actually laying on the ground…

Some days you just shout, “F&#%ing REALLY?”

DIYing can be hard. It can be thrilling, unpredictable, complicated, confusing, joyful, exciting, and exhausting all at the same time. Especially when it’s not your whole life. If you have other things that you need to also do during your day, DIYing can be an especially intimidating choice.

And it is a choice. It’s a lifestyle. Not everyone can let their home be a pile of disorganized crap in every room where the only solace a person has is to close the door. Not everyone can live in a garage for a year (with mice – and I’m not even saying I can do that). Not everyone can go for days, weeks, or months without running water in a toilet… or a kitchen.

It takes courage, and we are a special group. If you are a DIYer yourself (and I assume most of you are if you read this blog), take some time today to pat yourself on the back. You have a tremendous willpower, and I take a great deal of encouragement from reading what you have to say.

When I got out of my car after getting home that day, I took my camera out of my bag and snapped a few pictures with the intention of stopping this post right about at the expletive. But then, I took this shot:

And a different thought hit me. That’s my home in the background.  The one I’ve been toiling away at for nearly two years now. It looks vastly different than it did just a few months ago. And instantly, I’m reminded just how wonderful this DIY stuff can be.

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