in the lower regions

Helio destroyed the basement last April. Or rather I should say it was the beginning of dismantling piece by piece my laundry and storage areas. With one closet and a half total in our whole house, the basement has been a necessary storage area, especially for the little boy clothes as Levi grows out of them. First he started by tearing down the half built non-legal qualifying bedroom. Then he tore down our “nazi shower” as my Irish friend likes to call it. It was one of those temporary plastic gigs that had outlived its purpose within the first year of our living here. By the time he took it down it had a sway and a dangerous lean. It was not something that I could prop a foot up on to shave a leg or have a quick romp with my husband in. It was slimey, dark, and decorated with fasteners which evolved to orange rust spots.

It has been an 8 month process but the project has progressed to 5 channels of cut away concrete and piles of dirty tools. There are gaping holes of dirt in the basement. We have always had a bug problem in our 1932 home but now we have canvassed the area with an open invitation for those creepy crawlies to make our home their permanent domain. We have everything they need- free passage to the outside via a dark, damp basement and left over food on the stove.

Last week I thought I had the problem solved. I thought, heck with it, I am just going to put this bad boy on the market and get the hell out. Today fear set in. What if it’s impossible to sell, what if I am rejected by the credit markets, what if the car finally dies like it has been trying to do for 18 months and I don’t have a dollar to fix it.

Last weekend we spent time with my mom and dad up in Duluth. My dad finally could not take it anymore. He has patiently asked about the basement as long as the project has been going on. We have all the fixtures needed, just not the confidence to attach them to the plumbing pipes. He offered to come down for a week over Christmas to finally finish the job. So, maybe finishing it out can be Helio’s project for the winter, I can pay off my baby, and then look at putting it on the market this coming spring. I need more space. I am constantly shouting for everyone to stop touching me. So, Merry Christmas to me, my dad is giving me an out.