The More Things Change . . .

This is the inside of my new bedroom. If you were at all familiar with our house the way it used to be, you might appreciate the little chuckle I had today looking at this. In fact, with all the exposed wood in this new room, it now looks very much like the old room used to, with its wood beams and wood walls. So today when I was looking at this, I thought about the fact that we seem to have done so much in such a short time and yet it looks as if we haven't done anything at all.

I had to take a step back and think about what the last several months have brought us, to realize just how much has happened. We spent about three months figuring out the plans and getting all the permits. Then we demolished the back of the house and dug a great big hole in its place. Next came the concrete pour followed by the framing and the plumbing. Now we have part of a roof and some windows (leaning against the shed in the back yard, but windows nonetheless). Soon we'll have new heating and air conditioning and a new tankless water heater so that we can run laundry and shower at the same time (oh, the exciting times we have ahead!).

Yet despite all these wholesale changes, the thing that really helps me focus on the newness of it all is a change that is more felt than seen, one that only Darryl and I might notice. You see, in the old room, which was basically a 1970s version of a ski lodge, the wood was dark and knotty. We had to put in white tile on the floor when we moved in to counter the darkness of the room, despite its 12 foot ceiling. The new room has four huge windows, which, along with the windows in the bathroom, will flood the area with natural sunlight and bring a warmth, both physically and visually, to our home.

Come to think of it, that's not a little thing at all. Bringing the sun inside may be the biggest change of all.