In January, my fiancé, Scott, started trying to convince me that we needed to purchase the house right next to his family’s business. He plans to run the company someday and having our home next door would be pretty handy, he said.
I agreed that it was a great location with a nice yard and an unbeatable price. The only catch was that the house had caught on fire. So we would be buying it, taking it down to the studs and essentially starting from scratch. I tried to plead my case.
“This is going to be a ton of work, especially leading up to the wedding,” I said. “Can we really handle that? Plus the decisions. You know I’m terrible at making decisions.”
We talked about it for weeks. One day he said, “Em, I’m really excited about this, and I think it’s going to be great for our future. I’d really like for you to get on board.” So I sighed and said, “OK. But I’m only doing this once. If you try to talk me into remodeling another house down the line, I’m going to put up a much harder fight.” It was the first major compromise of what I’m sure will be many during our marriage.
Remodeling a house and planning a wedding on top of my full-time job and volunteer activities has been a little overwhelming for me. My hat is off to those of you doing multiple projects while also running a dairy farm.
Not every day has been hectic, but there have been times in remodeling when a lot of projects need to get done and a lot of decisions need to be made all at once. And wouldn’t you know it – those busy times always seem to hit at the same times the magazine is the busiest.
A quote from the book Getting Things Done by David Allen has served as my mantra these past few months:
Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.
— Václav Havel
Havel was a playwright who went on to become the first non-communist leader of Czechoslovakia and saw the country through its transition to the Czech Republic. Clearly, this is a guy who knew how to get things done.
Every time I think about this quote, I remember one of the first photos I took in the house (above). The stairs are covered in smoke-filled insulation and plaster as well as feathers from the previous owner’s down comforter that we dragged downstairs as we cleaned out the upstairs.
Looking at it now, I think about the number of times I’ve swept off those stairs, preparing for the next project. I think about how much fun I had – and how much fun Scott had watching me – take a sledgehammer to the plaster above the stairs. I think about how much I appreciate my grandfather’s ongoing work in scraping and restoring those stairs (and rebuilding the banister).
If we just kept talking about how much needed to be done with the stairs, how long it would take and if we were making the right decisions, we never would be at the point we are now (picture below).
And I can envision a day soon where there’s new drywall on the studs and I don’t have to sweep those stairs quite as often. But we’ll never get there without a little venture.
I hope this issue provides you with some inspiration to accomplish – or at least make a plan for progress of – a task on your dairy. There’s no better feeling than crossing off a to-do item and taking a step toward reaching your goal. PD
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Emily Caldwell
- Editor
- Progressive Dairyman
- Email Emily Caldwell
