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I want to renovate my screened porch and make a glass room. Thinking of the plans and logistics, I thought of my friends who have spent thirty years in a suburban split level when they were old house renovators. They wanted an old Victorian with multiple porches and staircases, full of charm and quirky room sizes. They dreamt of renovating old floors, restoring woodwork and finding the nooks and crannies of an old house. Instead they settled for the split level, the slightly smaller, more typical suburban house where they could raise a family without breaking their bank account. The five-year plan stretched to ten, then twenty, now thirty years. Did they give up on the dream or just fit it into their reality?
What sacrifices do we make in order to live? We dream of the Victorian and live in the split level. We dream of the ideal kitchen fit for a television chef and make do with laminate counter tops and stock cabinets. When we buy our first home most of us agree the plan will be to own and fix and sell. Little do we realize that life will intervene and adapt those dreams. The new kitchen will be replaced by the nursery, the new master bath will become the half bath under the stairs. The grandiose plans which accompany the receipt of those first keys will gradually give way to the realities of family life and the necessities of living in the real world.
I want a new porch, complete with screens that hold dogs inside, doors that fold back on each other and a few stone steps down to the patio where I can relax in the sun after gardening. The reality is far different from the dream, the funds for the renovation earmarked for college educations and life. Even now, I can imagine the plants blooming in the January sun, the warmth of the tile under my feet and yet the reality is, the time is still not right. We have to live with the reality.
Next year.
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