It seemed so simple. All we had to do is pull up the carpet, install the vinyl plank boards and within a few short weeks we’ll have all new floors and all the furniture, all the odds and ends, all the chaotic, disorganized mess cleaned up and back where it goes. No problem. We got this. A short walk around the block.

Then a ruthless somebody woke me up!

Six long backbreaking, nerve-wracking, feet-stomping, hair-raising months later and we’re still trudging that short walk around the block.

But, we’re closer than we were. We can finally see daylight at the end of the tunnel. Okay, we can see something flickering a hundred miles through the tunnel. Maybe it’s daylight. Maybe it’s just a mirage. Whatever it is, we can see it.
https://sandistatondigitaldesigns.com/2019/07/10/two-old-people-and-a-hand-truck/

Our survival methods:

1. We soon discovered that our bodies aren’t what they used to be so we took breaks. Lots and lots of breaks. Some times hour long breaks. Sometimes day long breaks, other times week-long breaks.

2. I cried a lot, got angry and frustrated a lot. I felt overwhelmed, over tired, over stressed a lot. I felt like giving up and renting a motel room till the stupid floors were finished. I decided to talk to God instead. And, duh, that’s when everything started falling into place. A heavy burden lifted off my shoulders and I can now walk past the mess in every room without screaming bloody murder. It still bothers me, but not like it did.

3. We quit at suppertime. We enjoy eating and watching Netflix together in the den. So that’s when we quit for the day. That is our happy hour together.

4. We take time out to spend with family and friends. That is our playtime together.

5. We’ve learned to take each day as it comes, do what we can, know when it’s time to quit and when to get back at it again.

Today, we are going to do the washroom. It’s tiny, but there’s a lot to do in there. We have to move the washer and dryer and the cabinet (my dad made it for my mother back in 1950 something. I am going to repaint it, change out the hardware and refinish the butcher block top as soon as I can), and pull up the three layers of tile. Oh, and I have to paint the walls, too. FUN! I will paint the cabinets later.