Keeping up with the blog has been really difficult for the
last four months for a very important reason:
Last December, Drew enlisted in the National Guard and began
attending once-a-month weekend drill exercises here in Arlington while he
waited to be sent off to Basic Training. On the morning of this past August
4th, I dropped Drew off at the airport and we began a four-month adventure. He
would have a week and a half of in-processing, followed by ten weeks of Basic
Training, followed by six weeks of Advanced Individual Training. I would be trying
to stay busy at home and keep our house from falling apart.
It was so tough to write posts for the blog because I did
not want to announce that he was gone. I felt like that would have been the
equivalent of standing on the roof shouting, “Hello, creepy people of the
Internet! The man of the house is away from home! Come on over!” Maybe I am
paranoid, but better safe than sorry, I guess. I will share more about my
experience in later posts, but for now I will spoil the ending by announcing
that my incredible husband is now home again, he is an Army National Guard
Cavalry Scout (Hooah!), and our house is still standing (Victory!).
You may have seen some of the projects I did around the
house while he was gone; I
finished the pantry and I recently
painted the fireplace. I also
cleaned up after that huge storm. I didn’t want to change TOO
much before Drew returned, but I had one more trick up my
sleeve prior to his homecoming. I got an elfa shelving coupon at work and I
originally planned on redoing my craft closet because it is an atrocious mess.
After I got that closet designed, I decided to see what it would cost to redo
Drew’s closet. In a moment of TOTAL SELFLESSNESS and pure WIFELY AWESOMENESS, I
splurged and purchased Drew’s closet and am saving the craft closet for a later
time.
The shelving in Drew’s closet was broken and wobbly and I
didn’t want him to have to come home to such a junky space. I had so much fun
with the demolition of the shelving, patching a giant gash in the wall, painting
the walls, and installing the shelving that I pretty much designed myself. When
I open his closet door I feel proud and accomplished and, quite frankly, a little impressed. I learned in the last four
months that I am capable of much more than I would have previously given
myself credit for. I would never have attempted something like this on my own before Drew left. Drew taught me a lot about basic drywall construction when we did the pantry and I was trained on elfa design and installation in August, so the
actual tasks themselves weren’t all that daunting to me anymore. Having the motivation
and the drive and the ability to do these things was awesome.
 |
BEFORE
|
 |
Demolition! How does someone even get a gash that large into the wall? The only explanation I can come up with is that someone must have dragged the pole that hung across there against the drywall during installation.
|
 |
| It's not perfect, but I think I patched that hole up pretty well! |
 |
| Shelving installed! |
 |
| Lower half |
 |
| Plenty of room for accessories! |
 |
| Upper half |
 |
| Shelves |
 |
| Pain-in-the-butt-to-install-hook-rack #1 |
 |
| Pain-in-the-butt-to-install-hook-rack #2 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| AFTER |
On a more profound level, I had not fully realized just how great
Drew has been for me until he left. For three years he has done nothing but
build me up, and although I have always noticed and appreciated that about him,
I finally got a chance to deeply feel the impact he has had on me. I think I
exuded a new level of confidence that my family and friends noticed; I hope it
came across as happiness and joy (and not arrogance). Amazingly, even though he
was away, Drew still made me believe in myself and I think this project was a
great way to wrap up my time at home alone before leaving to retrieve him. Drew
loves his new closet and all I have left to say is, “Welcome home!”
Disclaimer: I do work for The Container Store, however, I receive no benefit for talking about my job or the store's products on this blog. All opinions expressed on this blog are my own and not those of The Container Store or any of its employees.
