I'm still learning
curtains, caulking, and couches
I think many of us take for granted a comfortable home. One that has fluffy towels and a warm comforter, curtains or blinds, welcome mats at the door, functioning appliances, running water, etc. As you may recall Joe and I (and Giovanni, although he was a much more passive participant) moved recently. And by recently I mean how has it already been two months?! Anyhow, we moved and are setting up our home. Now, we had a home together before but I had moved into Joe’s furnished house. I had also lived in a house on my own before but it was furnished like an always-traveling for-work-while-writing-on-the-side bachelorette, with odds and ends I’d found at benefit shops or given to me by friends. Don’t get me wrong, it was lovely, but it was most certainly not what you think of as a house fit for a family.
This time around it is really different. Joe and I moved into a blank slate of a house that we get to make our family home. And what’s more is I’m feeling the nesting instinct of pregnancy, the urge to get the house clean and ready for the new baby. Since this is my second time doing the newborn phase—and I have a toddler to care for—I am thinking of all the things I want to do now to make my life easier in the coming weeks and months when all I’ll want to do is be in the newborn bubble. I won’t want to leave the house or have to buy things (although online shopping is a godsend in times like these), I’d really rather not think about it.
So this past week (and the week before) I have been tinkering around the house, doing things like installing curtain rods and measuring and ordering and returning and reordering curtains. The curtain rod installation and figuring out the curtains has been quite the learning curve for me with a bit of trial and error. I didn’t grow up with curtains, we always had Venetian blinds or shutter blinds but I never had to install them (I have done my fair share of dusting them which is a royal pain but setting up a house and keeping it clean are two entirely different things). But I love curtains. They are so romantic and add softness to a room. It’s like having live plants in a house, candles, art. It’s the little touches. But…it took me a minute (and by minute I mean buying and hanging curtains only to be disappointed because they were too short) to realize that your curtains actually need to be double the length (or so) of the window to allow for the billowy folds.
My parents taught me to do a lot around the house, I’ve mixed and poured concrete, installed French drains (helped install, my dad led the charge on that one), I know how to use a drill and find a stud in the dry wall. But, there are things I am still learning because I haven’t come across those yet or those weren’t the preferences my parents had for the furnishings in their house. Like down comforters and duvet covers. The first time you try to stuff a down comforter into a duvet cover you will likely feel a rise in your blood pressure.
What’s super cool is making a house your own. I wonder what the things are that Giovanni (and his soon to be sibling) are going to remember from our home when they grow up and move on to make homes of their own? Will they think you have to have curtains to make a room feel soft? Will they say, “my mom always fluffed the pillows when she made the bed,” or “my mom made me make the bed every morning” like my own mom did. Speaking of which, there’s that book written by retired four star Admiral William McRaven titled “Make Your Bed: Little Things that Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World.” I admittedly have not read the book but listened to the graduation speech that the book was based on and have heard it referenced repeatedly. In short, Admiral McRaven encourages people to start the day with an accomplishment. Before you leave the house you have already accomplished something like making your bed…not to mention the many other reasons why I personally think it’s important to make the bed in the morning.
Anyhow, beautiful souls, happy Friday. I hope you love your home and make it your own. Whether you realize it or not, the people in your life who come into your home are affected and influenced by it. Probably the most impactful is the one I grew up in—and how I want to repeat or not repeat what was done in our home. But also my grandparents’ homes, neighbors’ homes, friends at whose homes I spent time. Think about your house and how it’s a reflection of who you are. If you hate the carpet…rip it out. Want an outdoor shower because you go to the beach a lot or like to go for long runs…install one!
I hope to have you each over to our home one day. There is nothing more lovely and comforting than being a house guest in a warm home…I hope ours is that for you.
