To Care and Not to Care

Greetings from Downerson Manor! Hmm... Down-erson. Even that name strikes a sort of melancholy chord as our house is no longer defined by two couples joined together for the purpose of flipping a house. Truth be told, the mission of this house and the very people who now reside in it has changed quite dramatically in the last two years, and a new chapter is unfolding right before our eyes. But more on that later. For those of you who don't know me (or perhaps just don't know me well), my name is Debbie Sue... or around here I'm usually some variation of Debs, Debster, etc. I moved in here temporarily in February 2012 to escape an unusually sick house and find some peace and quiet for my body and soul. In April 2012, I came home to four giddy smiling faces, a bouquet of flowers and a formal invitation to become a part of this family. I cried... of course (as I'm totally the resident crier, but not the only one ;)... and then joyfully settled right in to my closet

When suddenly you are seeing something that wasn't just there, and feeling something that only a second go was something else entirely, and it all sounds a little bit different, the air, just like that, cleared up, there is no dust on the ground or the dishes or the pillows, and smells have left and are replaced by no smells or different ones, and you are suddenly nostalgic like crazy for one second ago even though it was particularly miserable, you long for the past because nothing was all done yet and there was such wonder to look forward to, and now you're in it and you're resting and even though time, with all its minutes and months, make that second feel like a century, it's still time and your memory still turns it into a dream that is on continuous loop everytime you sleep and these days you've even begun to daydream it. We're all hoping to be done soon and we stop and imagine what it will be like. Ben and Janell and Jay don't get angry all too

Ah the homestretch. The light at the end of the tunnel. The taste of what life will be like when it's all done. The part where you're in pain, but you're almost done so you keep going. You say, i've gone this far, there's no reason to not finish. And thank God that we're in it together. Even our friends and family who don't live here have been such a huge help! They've jumped in with so much enthusiasm sometimes that jay, ben & myself don't know what to do with it! But we are so thankful for it. We need it. We thrive on it. In less than 2 weeks, there won't be 5 people living here anymore. And come September, when the leaves change along with our lives, there will only be 3 of us (ben, myself & luke). The past 2 years have been a season. Well, more like an era, with lots of seasons. It's the little things that I'll miss. I feel like this house (and all that has come with it) has bonded us in so many ways. But i'm excited for