Movin' on Up
Environmental Son is suffering from Middle Child Syndrome. He feels he's not mentioned as much in these posts as his siblings are. He feels he's not as much a part of the renovation process. This, of course, is not true... and I'm giving him his own label and back-labelling posts to prove it.
The fact is, he will very, very soon play a critical role in this project, or at least his room will. Environmental Son is leaving for Environmental School and it's very far away -- 4800 kms away to be precise. We are excited for him and his adventure. We are sad to have him so far away. We are grateful to have his empty room....
Next week we'll be movin' on up -- stairs, that is, not in social standing. We do have other accommodations lined up, but not until the end of September. We will, in the meantime, be vacating the lower level of the house as the destruction/ reconstruction moves in. The Middle Child's room will become our temporary kitchen/ storage place. It's hard at the moment for me to visualize exactly how, but I have a vague list in mind of cooking appliances we can move up there... a microwave, a crockpot, a rice cooker, an electric frying pan, a kettle, a coffee maker.
Environmental Son will be leaving soon, and he won't be back until Christmas, which is the deadline we gave our builder for all the work to be complete (don't laugh). When the Middle Child returns things will be completely different. This raises an issue shared by Artist Daughter. When we began the process and looked at moving altogether, these two worried that they wouldn't feel the same about a new house -- they wouldn't be "coming home" -- this from children who have lived in 4 different cities, 5 different houses. But when the renos are complete and the house is transformed, will it still feel like "home" to them? Time, and the Environmental Son, will tell.
The fact is, he will very, very soon play a critical role in this project, or at least his room will. Environmental Son is leaving for Environmental School and it's very far away -- 4800 kms away to be precise. We are excited for him and his adventure. We are sad to have him so far away. We are grateful to have his empty room....
Next week we'll be movin' on up -- stairs, that is, not in social standing. We do have other accommodations lined up, but not until the end of September. We will, in the meantime, be vacating the lower level of the house as the destruction/ reconstruction moves in. The Middle Child's room will become our temporary kitchen/ storage place. It's hard at the moment for me to visualize exactly how, but I have a vague list in mind of cooking appliances we can move up there... a microwave, a crockpot, a rice cooker, an electric frying pan, a kettle, a coffee maker.
Environmental Son will be leaving soon, and he won't be back until Christmas, which is the deadline we gave our builder for all the work to be complete (don't laugh). When the Middle Child returns things will be completely different. This raises an issue shared by Artist Daughter. When we began the process and looked at moving altogether, these two worried that they wouldn't feel the same about a new house -- they wouldn't be "coming home" -- this from children who have lived in 4 different cities, 5 different houses. But when the renos are complete and the house is transformed, will it still feel like "home" to them? Time, and the Environmental Son, will tell.
home is wherever there's a dog to take up too much room on the bed.
ReplyDeleteI too am the "one in the middle" and understand Environmental Son's (and Artist Daughter's) concerns completely. To me, home is wherever the people who love you, are.
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