I don't even know how to explain where I've been for the last few weeks, or if it's even worth going into the whole story. Since it involves other people (like ones who aren't used to all their business being on the internet) I'll just start by saying I was in Virginia for 19 days, working on a house. We drove out there with little notice, although we knew the day would come eventually.
A 24 hour drive with a toddler probably sounds like hell, but I've been blessed with a great traveler. He pretty much kicked back, enjoying some snacks and the open road.
It really is a convoluted story which involves more family drama than is worth mentioning, but what it boils down to (with the Army’s lack of planning partly to blame) is we dropped everything (work! Rock n Roll Las Vegas Race! Our life!) to completely rip out and renovate a house with our bare gloved hands.
For almost 3 weeks we worked 18-20 hours a day. All three of us shared
a queen air mattress that refused to hold air. We had no propane for heat or hot water. And there were zero appliances. We took the very occasional FREEZING cold shower (hello Virginia in December is cold!) and cooked over a camp fire. It was miserable and wonderful at the same time.
I’m not at liberty to share before/after pics of the house with the entire world (I know, I’m very mysterious) but if you’re especially interested in that kind of thing I can show you via email.
The entire trip was an emotionally charged situation that had nothing to do with renovating a crumbling house, but instead centered around crumbling family relations.
It was easily the most mentally and physically exhausted I’ve ever been, and I doubt I’ll ever take a hot shower for granted again. Despite (or maybe BECAUSE of) the uncomfortable circumstances Charles, Dash and I united even more as a family. Dash looked at the entire thing as a big adventure, and eventually we realized he had the right mindset. With the right attitude even manual labor can be a family activity.
The house is completely repaired, now we hope to work on the relationships. And man am I happy to be home.