Here's to 2012

The final square on my calendar is about to be  x’d out.  Where did the year go?  I ponder that every New Year’s eve.  This year I didn’t have to think about it too much.  I knew where the year went.  The calendar pages were filled with home construction notes.  2012 was the year that I undertook the biggest project of my life; the construction of my new home.  

I remember wondering on numerous occasions if I should be taking this on.  I couldn’t believe that I was actually going through with it.  There were so many news stories about people being ripped off by contractors and being left with nothing.  I hoped that I did enough homework and I put my trust in this builder because this was the first time I was taking on such a costly venture that I knew nothing about.

As the snow began melting in March, I got a call from Vince, the contractor, with instructions to get all the utilities disconnected.  It was happening.  The big equipment was moving in to demolish the existing house.  I wanted to see the old place come down but had commitments so was very grateful for the email I got.  Oh, how I loved technology that day.  The fellow doing the demolition took some photos for me as the walls were coming down and sent them with  ‘no turning back now’ in the subject line.  

By the time I got to my place after work, the house was down, hauled away and the hole where it once stood was no more.  March 13 was the end of almost ten years in that old house.  That was it, the beginning of a new chapter.  By March 31, the basement was poured and floor was constructed.  The wood arrived for the walls.  I didn't realize how fast this was all going to happen.   

By April 30, the windows and doors were installed and the roof was shingled.  My dream was actually looking like a house.  I can't recall how many times I stopped after work for no other reason than to be able to unlock the door, wander from room to room and say to myself that it was all mine.

What fun I had picking out colors for siding, shingles, cabinets, lighting, paint, etc.  Everything that I had in my head was being realized.  I knew exactly how it was going to look.  I was not spending hours going from store to store looking at hundreds of colors and samples.  I knew what I was looking for.

By May 31 the drywall was up and taped.  The basement was framed, the furnace and hot water tank were installed and the front yard was dug up for the new septic tank.   I got schooled on the inner workings of an alarmed, two chamber septic tank.  There were so many things to know.

By June 30 the siding and soffits were installed.  The painter was putting the first coat of paint on.  I remember getting a call from Vince.  He asked if I could come out to the house after work.  I asked why and he said he wanted me to see the walls because they were ‘very green’.  I didn't have to go out.  I knew how green they were going to be but I had a plan for them.  The deck was constructed and the cabinets were installed by the end of June.  

I was so excited to see the cabinets go up.  I don’t know how long I stood there and admired them.  I opened and closed doors and drawers numerous times; envisioning where everything was going to go.

July was the month that things were completed.  The flooring was put down.  Any hardware not installed yet was completed.  The water was hooked up to the main line which meant no more water delivery every two weeks.  By July 31, the house was complete and the final inspections were done.  We set August 15 as the possession date.

It was hard to believe that so much was accomplished in such a short period of time.  It went so quickly and there was so much to do that I didn’t have time to second guess myself anymore; not that it would have helped.

I got my keys on August 15.  I unlocked the door and wandered from room to room.  I could see how each of them would look completed.  On August 16 I started moving things in.  It wouldn’t be completely furnished until September when my custom log furniture was done. 

The first thing I wanted to do was light my wood stove so that was the first manual I read.  It did warn me to light the stove the first couple of times on days when I could open the windows as the paint would produce a bad smell.  Well, smell it did.  The other manual I should have read was for the smoke detector.  Who knew that smoke detectors talk these days.  As the smoke built up from the paint burning off, the smoke detector was screaming ‘FIRE FIRE’!  I pushed the silence button but it wouldn’t silence.  There was no manual for it in the folder that Vince gave me.  I couldn’t shut the thing up.  I remembered seeing the box for it in the basement.  I went down there and the smoke detector in the basement was yelling at me too.  After ten minutes of it yelling FIRE, I was able to silence it.

Since August 15, my time has been spent putting the finishing touches in place.  I’ve been going through withdrawal.  No more emails ten times a day with the contractor.  No more picking things out.  No more manuals to read.  I can finally enjoy the fruits of my labor, until spring at least.  Then I’ll have to do something about the mud hole around the yard that is going to appear when the snow melts.

As I sit in front of my wood stove this December 31, I look back on the year with satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.  2012 was a whirlwind year.  It was the busiest year yet at work.  While the house was being constructed, my commute to and from work was 1.5 hours each way.  Some days it was a long drive.  I was still able to get in an adequate amount of outdoor time while frequenting the trails at the provincial park at Pigeon Lake.  My only disappointment is that two very dear friends are no longer here to see the outcome of my dream.  I wish that I could have shared it with them.

So as the clock counts down to midnight and 2013 arrives, I raise my glass to a year filled with opportunities for friends and family to come together in my new home to share a piece of my heaven.  I look forward to relaxing and truly enjoying my house, my yard and the natural beauty around me.  

Here’s to good health, happiness and prosperity for all in 2013.  May there be many opportunities to dream big and may those dreams come true.  Happy New Year!