Guest House

This is the view from my windows of my house. We are currently in the process of building a guest house in the back yard. I am not good during projects. In fact, my husband says I am really a b**** whenever we do a remodel. He has the vision; I see the mess. He can picture the finished project; I see the mess. He knows how it will turn out and how perfect it will be; I see the mess. Well, you get the idea. This time, I have been pretty calm about everything. Even my husband will claim this to be true. Amber stopped by today and had not seen it for a week and she just about fell over! "How can you live with this mess?", she wanted to know. "Why have I not heard you complaining about this mess?" I am not sure how to answer those questions. I think I know how important this is to my husband. He feels it is necessary to have his mother nearby as she gets older and that is why we are building it. We have a half acre and plenty of room. He is a builder. He knows what looks right and he makes things beautiful. As opinionated as I am, I trust his judgement on things like this.

Now the double edged sword of this project is that, when it's completed, my mother-in-law will move into it. Most people cringe when I tell them the initial purpose of the guest house. Many say they could not or would not ever want to live that near to their mother-in-law. I am not sure I do either. We are not what I would call close. However, we have all discussed the need for boundaries and privacy. Adjustments and compromise will no doubt play a part for all of us. Frankly, I am watching several friends care for their aging parents right now and the late evenings helping them, the driving over to their house if a problem arises, etc takes its toll. We will be able to help my mother-in-law by simply opening up one of the sliding glass doors and walking outside. She can go on living on her own as long as she is able, confident that we are steps away if needed. It all sounds good in theory....stay tuned!