"I can't believe what you guys are doing!"
"I am so in awe of your building your own home." "You never cease to amaze me . . ."
"You guys are awesome!"
"You're amazing!"
Now I don't think I've ever been called amazing before but I get that a lot lately. And it has been food for thought. While we ARE amazed at what we are doing, we don't feel amazing. It IS amazing to wake up in the morning and look out the window at our house that we're building! (This time last year we had just started putting up the framing.)
But do I FEEL amazing? No. I just feel like someone who has had a dream, researched how to make that dream come true and has taken the steps to make it happen.
It's a lot like making a casserole. Or designing a sweater. Or sewing an outfit. Or building a model railroad. You decide what it is you want to make. You make a "parts" list. You define the steps and in what order. Then you start with step one and take it one step at a time from there. Really! It's that simple!!! And that's what we've done.
About 6 or 7 years ago I singed up for and took a number of adobe building classes at a local collage. We are fortunate to have one of the most knowledgable adobe builders in the US in our little community (Quentin Wilson). One of the many things I learned from him is that building a house is not rocket science. He really helped demystify the whole process for me. And gave me the opportunity to experience the process first hand. While I've been around builders all my life, before I took those classes I had never really used a power tool! Now I think I'm pretty handy with all the power tools we have!
He also impressed up us the thought that we should always be willing to ask for help. While we've done most of the work ourselves we have had the help of wonderful friends when we've needed it. That's been a lifesaver!!!!
What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that we're really not that special or "amazing". We're just doing what folks have done since the beginning of time. We're building a house to live in! It's exciting, it's challenging and it's stimulating! But it's not rocket science! It just takes the willingness to say "what the hell" and take that first step.
We may not be amazing but this experience sure has been! And continues to be! What a ride!!!!!
And at the end of this ride we'll have a wonderful house in which to live, work and play!
Amazing!
