the messy MIDDLE
We are in the midst of preparing the house for new carpet and office furniture, and while we are very excited to get the upgrades, right now, the house is a disaster!
During our annual planning session, my husband and I made the decision that this year we would make some much needed upgrades to the house. I also need a workable office with more storage and room to work. The selection process for new carpet and office furniture was so much fun!
We sent a couple hours at a local flooring store discussing options; colors, styles, and durability. We brought home a few samples and picked out a favorite. For the office, we discussed doing custom cabinets, countertops, and under cabinet task lighting. Then I spent hours browsing catalogs of pre-built office furniture. I loved imagining what the pieces would look like and how nice it would be for all our things to have a proper home, out of sight and easy to find.
The planning and ordering of all the parts and pieces necessary was fun, but right now - we are seriously questioning our life choices!
New office furniture and the carpet selections.
The new carpet will be going in the office, a bedroom, and the entire upstairs where my office currently is. That means both the upstairs and two rooms on the main floor of the house have to be emptied of all decorations, books (SO MANY BOOKS), and stored items so the installers can move the furniture.
We also have to figure out where to store the boxes of unassembled furniture so it isn’t in the main hallway of the house!
Before we started taking the rooms apart, we sat down and planned how we were going to move things, where we would store the boxes and totes (in the bathrooms), and even what days we would spend working on getting things moved, but as we are packing, purging, and tetris-ing things into the bathtubs, it feels like utter chaos that will never end.
The house currently looks like a raccoon on crack tore through it. There are half packed boxes and totes, stacks of books (SO MANY BOOKS), shipping boxes of new furniture waiting to be put together, and general piles of chaos on every level surface.
We are caught up in the messy middle of the project, and it is less than fun. Last night, as we were sorting thought the final book case (SO MANY BOOKS), Robert joked that we might as well keep packing and just move - it’s that bad.
Boxes, bags, and totes EVERYWHERE!
Any project can feel that way. We all love seeing the before and after pictures from home renovations, and in the HGTV shows, the chaos and grit of what it takes to get the job done is made to look fun and exciting. IT’S NOT!
The same can be true for us writers, because both the excitement of starting a new project and finally typing THE END are magical moments, but in between is where the real work takes place. There are many moments when the story feels like it just isn’t going to work, or there is a plot hole big enough for a semi to drive through, or maybe you’re just plain tired of writing these characters.
But pressing through the messiness and chaos of the process is where the magic truly happens. Just like opening a cabinet you haven’t looked in for years can reveal a treasure you forgot you had, pressing through the hard parts of writing gives characters the chance to surprise you, or perhaps you’ll write a line so profound you can’t believe came out of your brain.
But - no matter what project you’re working on: a home remodel, writing the next great novel, or making a positive change in yourself - embrace the messy middle. That’s where the change truly takes place, and all the hard work will be worth it!
Stay tuned for the ‘after’ pictures!
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