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A lot of people have been asking how we are doing since my Dad passed. The short answer is we are hanging in the there. Some things are easier (day to day) and some things are harder (the holidays will be for sure). We have already been through some big dates (my Dad and Mom’s birthdays) and that was okay. So we are hanging in there and figuring out a new normal. Can I just say here what an amazingly strong woman my Mom is? I’m so proud to see how well she is navigating all of this new and often yucky stuff.
Okay, enough of the melancholy and onto something more fun. In September my Mom generously shared some of my Dad’s life insurance money. We are so lucky to be in a position where we had some choices about how to spend that money. This summer we spent a day up at Suncadia, a resort about an hour from our house. That got us thinking. What if we were able to put those funds towards a place where we could gather as a family? A place where we could make some new memories and a place where our teenagers (and pre-teen) would want to come and hang out with us? Ha! That might be a tall order.
Mr. Fun and I took a look at a few properties but I kind of fell in love with the one that reminded me of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The one that had been on the market for awhile (yea for motivated sellers) because the cabin like outside didn’t match the modern insides. It was staged very badly… good thing I can see past that. Mr. Fun was not sure but I knew I could turn this into an awesome place for us.
So we went for it. As soon as the offer was accepted I started ordering all sorts of furniture. We are putting the house into the rental pool to help cover the monthly costs so we knew we didn’t want to put anything TOO ‘special’ in the house. (We don’t want to be sad if anything breaks or disappears. Sometimes that’s the cost of doing business.) Of course all of the furnishings have to be sturdy enough to stand up to some good use though. So, I set myself a conservative budget and set out to fill the house.
This was the fun part! How often do you get to fill an empty house from scratch? (Actually I started with an awesome couch from my Mom that fit the style perfectly. We had the couch in our garage before the offer was accepted so did we get a house for the couch? Maybe!) So often our houses are furnished in a certain style that has been cultivated over years and years. We start out, just out of college, with some crap furniture because that is all we can afford. Then, as we get better jobs we add slightly better furniture that goes with the crap furniture. Over the years we upgrade and add new pieces but, essentially, our style is really started by those first pieces of crappy furniture. Crazy, right? Don’t get me wrong, I love the style of my house, but the chance to decorate a different house in a completely different style was just like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one.
So I got to work on Overstock, Wayfair, Cost-plus and Ikea. I had to order every mattress, mattress cover, fork, rug, picture, etc. I trolled the internet for coupons and sales and placed my orders. Everything had to be sent here instead of Suncadia because there was nobody there on a regular basis. Our poor UPS man Jason. 23 packages one day, 16 packages another, etc. He carried in seven mattresses! (Did you know they come in duffle bags when you order them online?)
The good thing about this is everything was protected and portable. The bad news is that 75% of it needed to be put together. Holy Allen wrench Batman! This is where my in-laws came in. They helped us empty our UHaul and put together ALL of that furniture. A whole house full! They were amazing! The other awesome thing was how enthusiastic our girls were about putting together furniture too. Mr. Fun and I have always enjoyed home improvement projects and the satisfaction of a job well done. It was awesome to see the girls jump right in and feel so good about contributing and so satisfied with how great the rooms looked.
I spent a ton of hours making lists, trying to come up with all of the things we would need. It was fun but a lot of work too! The best compliment was from Ellie when she said ‘Mom! You thought of everything!’ Music to my ears kid!
So now we are ready to start this new chapter in our family. We are ready to gather with family and friends and make new memories all while remembering all of the people who made this possible for us. We are so lucky!
Now, if you have made it this far in the ridiculously long blog post I will share some pictures with you. Please know that they were taken with my iPhone and I am NOT an architectural photographer!
PS – If you are looking for a place to rent when you are up in Suncadia give us a shout. This house has two masters and sleeps 12 so it’s a great place to rent with another family!