Well, hello again. First, let me say a HUGE thank you to those who helped with the survey at the end of last year - I CANNOT thank you enough.
But that feels like a lifetime ago already, even though its only been three short months. We’ve had a rollercoaster of a time since the last time I wrote - traveling for business and to see family, the coziest holiday break, then, hugely disruptive house problems, parents in the hospital, and sickness ourselves. And B and I joined forces for a
side business? It’s been a LOT. Now it's April?
When you add in everything that’s been going on in the world, frankly, I’m spent.
Ground.News has made staying up to date tolerable. But, as someone who has studied history and also has astute pattern recognition, this shit is terrifying.
I've tried to write out my not-so-deep thoughts a hundred times here, but it just came off like complaining. Which is no help to anyone, including me. But there are three other pieces I've read recently which so much better define how I'm feeling right now:
Saying I’m mad as hell doesn’t even begin to describe it. I’m enraged, yes, but I’m also deeply grieving the life we had planned because that’s all out the window now. And feeling any joy lately has also meant feeling guilty about it, too. Life just feels so heavy.
When it comes to the business, the entire homebuilding and renovation community sighed the weariest sigh when this Republican administration was elected last year because we’ve been here before. It was also a big topic of conversation at the builder's show in February. Because we all are still 'recovering' from the tariffs from 2016-17, and how they turned the building and manufacturing industries upside down. So suppliers didn’t wait this time to start sending letters with notifications about percentage price increases; they started immediately after the election.
Which means the best time to start any home project or new build was yesterday. The next best time is right now. Regardless of any actual tariffs (this on-again off-again manipulation BS is so damn exhausting), prices on materials were already going up, up and up. And, as history tells us, probably not down again ever. So my biggest tip for you right now is DON’T WAIT. Your building professionals have all been here before, unfortunately, and we got you. So there's simply no point in waiting out the current situation. Just do it.
This sounds extremely self-serving, and I get that.
But part of surviving this world is continuing to defiantly live our lives with some semblance of joy - which absolutely includes loving where you live - and
definitely asking for help when we need it.
Now more than ever. ‘Cause we’re all we got, right? Relatedly,
Does Baby Have Hat? Also,
don’t obey in advance. (I, in particular, needed this reminder.)
What I'm saying is that I can help you with your house so you have the bandwidth to
make your daily calls,
organize your networks, and go out there and
give ‘em hell. I can do house, because I can’t necessarily do those other things. But you can. And that’s how we survive. Together.
So I’ll be here, helping you with your overwhelming projects, planting an even bigger garden than I want because that seems smart this year, and as ever, looking for those…
