Swirls on the ceiling

When I am stressed, I work - manically I think, but I work. If things are not going well, my house is clean, my garden is recently weeded, and little projects are all done. For the last couple of months, I have been working myself most of the time like a borrowed dog.

Last night, in addition to working my full time job, adopting puppies and knocking out a sink full of dishes, I had to re-spackle the ceiling in the bathroom. The ceiling was showing signs of the inattention one sees in a house that has been rented and not loved for some time. The house we are staying in will probably not be ours after all the legal stuff is final. Josh asked why I would even want to do anything to that house - why paint and fix pipes and caulk the tub. Seemed futile to him.

Making a house into a home for your family is really important. So what if we stay there two weeks or two years, I want the house to look good for them - to feel like a place they can come to rest and be themselves. There is often a load or two of laundry to be folded or dishes in the sink - but overall, the house is put together. Pictures are hung and comfort things are placed where we can see them. New paint gives the place a clean feel - the caulk prevented more water damage and made the tub look cleaner, the KILZ on the bathroom ceiling and walls took care of a mildew problem someone should have addressed years ago, and the pipe in the basement has been draining water from the tub and the washing machine into the basement for Lord only knows how long. Needs to be fixed, so I fix it.

I don't really care who benefits from it later - I want the kids to be able to benefit from it now. Don't think I have to worry about Better Homes and Gardens stopping by to take pictures. For now, we are blooming where we are planted - even if it is borrowed soil.