About 2 years ago, I met my beloved. We knew pretty quickly that this was "it." And like many other couples who meet in mid-life, there were many things that had to be figured out. One was where to live.
At the time, I lived in a renovated, cute condo right in the center of town. It was decorated and my urban garden? That was my little oasis. Mark lived for 22 years in a 2-family on a beautiful, tree-lined street on a great lot. His youngest son was about to move out. His elderly parents lived in the other unit. Unlike most 2-families around here, this one was split down the middle. Mark had the left side; his parent the right. From the street, it looked like a single family. Not that you could see it because the house was covered by trees. The backyard had an old swing set, two more of the same trees, and it was overgrown. That was just the beginning. The house also needed a lot of work. A lot of work. The question: was I up for it?
Mark and his parents had always planned on renovating their house. Then life and raising a family got in the way. I understood completely, but the decorator voice in me kept saying: "I can't live in no pink stucco house. And all those trees? They have to go." Also, I wasn't sure I was too keen on a renovation. I do it for a living. I find no joy in the act of decorating and designing for myself. None.
Last summer the old swing set and trees came down in the back yard. Soon after, the trees in the front of the house. And all before I had a ring.
It's a beautiful house, actually. And we will surely have a beautiful life here. And I said yes him and yes to renovating.
