Hidden Blessings

A little over three years ago, I made the decision that I was independent enough - and didn't need to wait for a guy - to buy a house. I figured that since there was no guarantee on when/if that guy was coming along, I could get the pieces of my life together, and whenever/if the right guy came along, he could just fit into the open piece of the puzzle. I bought my townhouse with the thought that I'd eventually live there with the guy I'd marry, and I've put a lot of thought/time into making it exactly like I wanted.

Wellllll, I didn't plan on meeting a guy who was in the process of buying his own house in order get HIS life together ;). Only a few weeks into dating (and even before he closed on it), Patrick gave me a tour of the house. Throughout the entire process, he has been incredible about asking my opinion on decorating and getting the house to the place it is today... well... the place it was a few weeks ago... but I'll get to that.

After we get married, Patrick and I are planning on living in his house and renting out my house. It makes more sense b/c he has 3 bedrooms (compared to my 2), has a backyard & doggy door (compared to my patio and grassy area nearby) and it a couple hundred square feet larger than my place. My place is ideal to rent out to roommates, so that shouldn't be a problem finding someone. Still, I've had a really hard time with the idea of moving into "his" house. I've thought it out many times, and I think that the reason I've been really struggling with it is that I was just imagining moving into the house as is.

We've talked about this multiple times, and one of his main points is correct: he has been amazing in including me on many of the decisions of the house, but [especially early on] I've put it together with just him in mind - not "us" in mind. He's been more than willing to consider changing the bedroom (for example) when I move in; as much as my fuchsia wall accent suits me - and his orange accent wall suits him - neither one would be good for us as a couple ;). We decided on a blue and gray theme for the bedroom which is going to be gorgeous & calming at the same time. We were also talking about getting carpeting for the house because it's currently painted concrete throughout the house.

Here's the thing I referenced earlier... A few weeks ago, Patrick's house flooded (with about 2 inches of water throughout the whole house) due to a broken reverse osmosis system under the sink. We've been working with insurance and contractors, and apparently, his house will be getting new baseboards, a new color of paint on the walls and carpet (to replace the painted floors). Also, since the cabinets in the kitchen need to be repaired, they're going to have to take off the countertops - and the contractor said that the countertop will crack in that process 99.9% of the time. Because of that, we'll probably have to get new countertops (neither of us likes the current countertops).

As much of a headache as this has been for Patrick - and the fact that his house is kind of in shambles with the torn off baseboards and damaged/ruined personal items - I think this is one of the biggest blessings in disguise possible. Now, we'll be able to put the house together as a couple - with us as a couple in mind! It'll make it a LOT easier for me to think of it as my house, too, and the plan is a project we can work on together. Looking at the situation optimistically, it's actually really exciting!

He gets back in town (from a work trip) tomorrow night, and the contractors may come again on Thursday to get more details together. For his sanity, I'm thinking the sooner the process gets going, the better!

-Lisa