|
|
| |
| Sun, Nov. 23, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Summer project under way to accommodate testosterone Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 By Micki Bare The modest house I was so proud to purchase as a hardworking single mom was perfect for my little boys and me. Trees, a yard and storage for bikes and skateboards made it a great place for us. Even when Hubby fell for all of us and married into our little family, three bedrooms and two baths provided more than enough comfort for three boys, two parents and a few pets. Hubby and I spent many hours relaxing on the front porch, enjoying the neighborhood and watching the children play ball in the cul-de-sac with their friends. But then, the unthinkable happened. We knew it was inevitable, but we ignored the impending change that was on its way. Ignoring it, we soon discovered, doesn't keep it from happening. After years of contentment, it finally hit: TESTOSTERONE. My cute, sweet, darling boys morphed into taller-than-mom teenagers with deep voices and lots of clothes. Communal kiddy baths became individual showers that take forever behind locked doors. There is never enough hot water. There are never enough clean, dry towels. Our once perfectly-sized home shrunk overnight. The couch wasn't big enough. There weren't enough bedrooms. Even when we ran out of food the cabinets were too small. Even the hallway seemed too narrow for teen traffic. And the walls were simply not thick enough for all the music. We've had MP3 players blasting and guitars connected to amplifiers competing with our upright piano. And let's not forget that guitar video game in the living room. Clearly NASA was developed to search for additional space for growing teenagers. After TESTOSTERONE invaded our home and the walls closed in around us, Hubby and I began the age-old growing family debate. Should we sell our house and move into a bigger house or should we make our house bigger. Since we liked our neighborhood and all the teenagers who walk and ride their bikes over to hang out with our boys, and since our cats and dog have never lived anywhere else, and since we didn't want to give up our front porch, we decided to stay. We then sketched out expansion plans. The planning phase took many, many months. We started with our dream addition. Unfortunately, converting our ranch-style home into a three story castle with turrets and a moat wasn't as realistic as we'd hoped. Finally, we scaled the plans down to something that would fit our budget as well as the neighborhood while still providing enough space to appease TESTOSTERONE. Then we went to the banks. When we discovered that we could refinance with a loan that was ten years shorter than our current mortgage and had a much lower rate, we could see the light at the end of TESTOSTERONE. We knew that we finally had the upper hand. We broke ground just before summer vacation began. When the builders painted the new foundation line in hot pink spray paint so they would know where to pour the footers, I panicked. It looked awfully small. Would it be enough extra space to accommodate TESTOSTERONE? The builders smiled and assured me that construction looks much smaller when it is outlined in hot pink on dirt. It would seem much bigger once it's built, they promised. When the foundation was built, it looked a little bigger, but I was still concerned. Then again, I could also see where our new deck would be, and it was clearly going to be gigantic compared to the old deck. I rationalized that we would have plenty of extra space in our new outdoor room even if the addition was lacking. But then the floor and walls went up. I could finally see where the new windows and doors would be. One day, while it was raining, Hubby and I climbed into the addition and walked around. It was huge. We would have plenty of space. As we walked around I mentally moved furniture around and tried a few different decorating themes. Suddenly, it didn't matter that we were limited to one door all summer while the house was under construction. It didn't matter that we had boxes of stuff that would be moved to new space stacked in the living room. I didn't mind my temporary office in the kitchen. Even the boys are better able to tolerate each other with less space this summer. Sure no one is allowed in the backyard while it's deemed an unsafe construction site. But that is fine. Because when the dust settles, TESTOSTERONE will have plenty of space to roam with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a ridiculously large deck. Of course, if for some reason we quickly outgrow the new space, there is always the hope of Mars and other yet to be explored planets. ------- Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, "Relative Expressions." She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com. |
