The other day Oprah said that happiness is having something to look forward to. I don't claim this as the universal statement of happiness but it sure comes close to defining my happiness. When I came home from vacation, I found myself wandering around, trying to figure out what to do with myself. I had just finished a big project (planning our vacation), and now that it was over, what was I going to do? I am a person of purpose. Too many little projects overwhelm me, but I like to be focused on big projects...something that is in the future. I like putting all the pieces together and watch it come to fruition. In the past those projects have been: researching for a big purchase (car, home, trailer, etc.), researching for the best vacation spot, planning a home renovation (kitchen, bathroom, etc), planning a new landscaping in the front. Every tax refund gives me a reason to dream up a new project. This tax season we started thinking about the basement, and how nice it would be to have a finished room for the kids to play. Once I'm given a new thing to research...off I go...planning, graphing, researching. I'm always anxious to find out costs. We got two bids: one from a friend and one from family. Touchy! We chose our friend. He would be doing it as a side job and it would be cheaper. However, we realized we didn't have enough money to do it all. We decided we would have it partially done, and maybe finish it up next year. I believe that if you have the money to do something, take advantage of it before it's dribbled away on other stuff.
When we got back from vacation, Ted found out a client of his was ready to sign a contract that he had been working on for 6 years! This made us feel more comfortable to make the commitment for the whole finishing plan. Before we got a chance to tell our friend, he lowered our price because he found a deal on 2X4's and decided we could paint the basement ourselves and save more money. In addition to this, we changed our plan to a drywall ceiling instead of drop ceiling which would save our materials cost. Our final price is $2300 less than the original bid!! I'm so glad to be doing this at a good price. It just makes you feel better about the whole commitment, AND...I have a new project!!
So now comes the part of getting ready for the job. Luckily, we aren't finishing our whole basement. To make it more affordable, we are doing it in two phases. The first phase is around 900 square feet. We already have a storage room, so with the remaining space we'll finish a play room and a family room that are open to each other and are separated by the stairs. The family room will have an office nook that is open to the rest of the room (the kids love to play on the computer). We'll also add a clothing closet. We'll keep all the out of season clothes in there as well as clothes that are waiting to be worn by younger siblings. The back part of the basement will remain unfinished until we feel the need for another bedroom (guest room or college student returning home?). We'll also eventually want a bathroom down there, so we put it in the plan for the second phase, but we'll do without it for now.
When we work on a room, I enjoy getting rid of old stuff. Now is my chance to get into my basement and purge. I did this when we moved two years ago and I already need to do it again. I just need an excuse to nudge me to do it. Now I have one. There is so much you keep when you are growing your family, it feels good to get rid of stuff you know you are done with. I have all the video tapes. They were gold when Sam and Abby were young, but does Mary really need 5 Little Mermaid videos? She's into Dora! And what about the fact that they are videos! They are practically obsolete! Now that we have DVR, we rarely use videos! It'll feel good to offload this stuff. The job starts June 26th, so I have to start NOW. We're camping again the 28th for four nights. This will be easy to get ready for, but it's another reason to get the basement cleared out right away.
Yes, I am happy with a project to work on...a great purpose. I have something to look forward to: a finished basement we can all enjoy. Maybe that's why God gave me a house with so much to work on...he knew it would keep me busy...and happy.
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