Putting Lipstick on a Pig

That's what Handyman and I have been doing since we got back from holidays. Our tenants moved out July 1st, and I was just dreading  preparing our little investment  for the next renter.

We had investigated demolishing the trailer and having a brand new, bright, clean, sweet smelling modular home built in its place. We were THIS CLOSE to signing a deal with a modular home company. But as we thought more about it, and got second opinions, we realized that that was an awful lot of moo to spend for a rental. And the alternative would be to spend very little comparatively speaking, and still bring in a decent monthly rental income.

The alternative has come with a great price, though... cleaning, scraping, washing, priming, painting, sweating, cleaning, numerous trips to Home Depot, and many hours spent--hours that could be spent on more preferable occupations.

And I must confess, I was not a happy camper when this project began, even though I was the one who initially entertained the idea of keeping the place a little longer.In fact, I was a very unhappy, complaining camper (as some of you can attest).

But now I can stand back and say that there are some good things have come out of this.This project has reminded me that:

Smoking stinks! Smoking does horrible things to a building. It makes it  reek and covers everything with a layer of brown filth. Never mind what it does to one's lungs.

There is hope in every situation. We renovated this place twice already (over 9 years), but this time, we've
gone deeper. It's actually looking pretty good and once we are done, it will be clean, freshly painted, and definitely spruced up, with everything in working order. Not like new, but a good little home on a 1/2 acre for a small family, for a reasonable rent..

There are always more layers to go down. It reminds me of spiritual growth. You can only cover up so much with surfacey stuff, but to really make things better, you gotta go down underneath. You have to decide how deep you want to go.

Working together is good! Time spent on this has actually been good for Handyman and my relationship. Life sometimes becomes such that we live in the same house, but rarely really do things together. Often, at home he has his interests, and I have mine. This project  has forced us to spend some quantity time together working towards a common goal, even if it's not a fun one. We have even managed to laugh together over some very stupid things!

Attitude is (almost) everything. Deciding to focus on the positives instead of the negatives has made this job a whole lot easier to swallow. Not saying I am enjoying the process, but I sure am looking forward to it being done, and seeing the fruits of our labours,  and that keeps me going. Not to say I won't be cranky again between now and completion date. I AM human.

Breaks are good. Handyman can work twice as hard and twice as long as I can. That's just the way it is. When we let go of unrealistic expectations of each other and have a mutual understanding, things just go better. I take breaks when I need 'em and he takes breaks when he needs 'em.

Amazing lessons from a pig with lipstick!