I skipped February. Not just in my blog world but basically in my real world too. I'm not sure what happened to it. I know its a short month. I know we had Valentines Day and Clover's birthday, but other than that its just lost in a fog of kitchen construction, which is now done and I couldn't be happier about it. However our construction did bring something to the forefront of my brain that I had kind of forgotten about. A behavior of mine that I really had pushed back for a bit.
Growing up my mother was what a lot of people called nomadic. We moved a lot. A whole lot. Not just from house to house, apartment to apartment, but from town to town, area to area. As a kid I didn't really understand that it wasn't "normal" to go to 5 different schools in elementary school and live in 7 different houses between the 7th-12th grade. I thought it was kind of fun. It taught me to make friends easily and adapt to change quickly. What it also did was give me that same nomadic tendency. Sort of.
After I got married, had kids, bought a house, all of that moving stopped. For the first time in my life I lived somewhere longer than 2 years...and it bugged me. I discovered myself getting sick of my house. Feeling like I needed a change. Wanting something different but not knowing what that was. I had this constant unsettled feeling. Then I remember watching Trading Spaces one day (as I did religiously. I miss that show) and one of the homeowners said "Its like I have a whole new house!" LIGHTBULB! I didn't have to move, I needed to paint! What a brilliant idea! From that day on, whenever I get that feeling of needing "new" and I can't travel somewhere (which I love to do for much the same reason) I look around my surroundings and see what I can change.
We bought our current house almost 3 years ago and knew when we bought it that it needed some updating and modernizing. Its a 60yr old home and had only 2 other owners, both living in it well into their golden years. We loved the layout and neighborhood but knew work would have to be done. Hubby and I decided we would conquer one major project (as in major $$) a year and within a few years it would be all done. We have done just that. Finished the basement and added a laundry room and spare bedroom. Tackled the overgrown, insanity that was our backyard and added a patio. Then THIS YEAR finally remodeled the kitchen. One would think all that change would have kept my nomadic-ness at bay, and it did, until the kitchen. Thats when I looked around and knew I was needing more. The kitchen is beautiful and a huge improvement but the rest of the house still looks...well old, and I was feeling unsettled. I'm now painting the formal living room and family room, and you know what? My nomad has gone to rest again.
It may sound strange and it probably is, but if you ever find yourself "unsettled" and not knowing why, try painting a room in your house. Its cheap, easy and can really change your view of things. Well, for awhile anyway. ;-)
