The Fixer Upper
Despite all my years I still feel like a child within. I have a hard time peering into the mirror and locating a fully realized adult. I might have believed the delivery of my second child would have altered it, yet I still seem to be in denial of the aging process.
Speaking of aging — or rather fighting it off — my dear wife and I recently moved into a brand new house and it possesses room in its basement for the exercise room my wife had always desired. Of course, I’m seeing dollar signs when I brainstorm all the big and small things necessary, from the essential but often forgotten weight benches and exercise mats to determining the most reliable stationary bicycle. Stationary bikes can be tricky these days. Do you go with an upright or a recumbent stationary bike? Should you go with an analog or digital?
And then my wife appears set on getting one of those elliptical trainers too. Yes you read that accurately. A stationary bicycle and an elliptical trainer — not one or the other. My guess is that the extra exercise equipment will go with the stretch mark cream she started using after the birth of youngest daughter. Wow I’ll get it for that joke.
I have to be careful with our budget because our new house is a bit more of a fixer-upper. We desired it to be this way, yet we still have to carefully budget everything, even to a knob for a cabinet (no kidding). My wife has a pretty ambitious kitchen cabinet remodeling design planned, but I have to remind her the bathroom sinks she desires put in will cost a fair amount, as well.
Thankfully, she and I both appreciate the natural, rustic style, so we’re furnishing our new house with furniture which is unfinished. Yes, it still requires a little finishing, but we can keep the costs down and make higher quality furniture than we could purchase in any store. I found a nice pair of coffee tables with some decent, natural knotting and a entryway table in matching cedar.
And then there’s the great outdoors. For our patio we’re researching fireplaces for outdoors and we will furnish with some inexpensive wicker furniture to start.
Supplying a brand new home seem so mature, but I can’t help but feel like I’m merely playing house. The new exercise equipment and furniture only feel like a new era of playthings.