We got our occupancy permit. That is a big sentence around here.
A couple of weeks ago, we sat down and divided everything still ahead of us into three categories: what had to be finished for the occupancy permit, what had to be finished before we could actually move in, and what could wait until after we were living in the house.
So I knew the occupancy permit wasn’t the finish line. Still, it was a major milestone—and one I’m very grateful to have behind us.
Now we’re into that second list: the things that have to happen before we can move in. And at the moment, that list feels rather long.
One of the uncertainties is our trim carpenters. Their availability is now in question, and we won’t know anything definite for at least another week. If they aren’t available, installing the base trim, doors, window trim and ceiling trim may fall back on us. In the meantime, I have plenty to do. All of our mahogany doors and jambs need to be stained and topcoated before they can be installed.
And the occupancy permit does allow another bit of progress. Once I finish the doors and jambs, I can begin moving some of the things that have been stored in our covered trailer into the storage room. So we are moving forward. It just doesn’t particularly feel that way right now.
I don’t think I’m overwhelmed. And I’m certainly not regretting what we’ve done. I think I’m simply weary of the seemingly endless list still ahead of us. You keep putting one foot in front of the other. You know you’re getting somewhere. But every step seems to require more effort than you think it should, and the place you’re headed still seems farther away than you would like.
When I get into that frame of mind, I tend to turn toward gratitude. And I have so very much to be grateful for. I love this land. I love the privacy and the trees. I love waking up to the bird songs. I love looking around and knowing that this is the place we chose to make our home. And I love the house we’re building.
Maybe gratitude doesn’t require me to deny that I’m tired of building it. I can be grateful that we received the occupancy permit and still wish the move-in list were shorter. I can appreciate every bit of progress we’ve made and still be weary of having another list waiting behind the one we just finished.
I can love living here and still long for what I think of as “normal life”—when our belongings are in the house, our furniture is where it belongs, and every day doesn’t begin with the question, “What do we have to finish next?”
We’re not there yet. For now, there are doors to stain, jambs to topcoat, decisions to make, and another week to wait before we know who will be installing all that trim.
So that’s where this homestead reboot stands today. The first list is finished. The second one is underway. And outside the windows of the house we’re not quite living in yet, the trees are still beautiful and the birds are still singing.
Today, I think I’ll let that be enough.