The DIY Summer of '24

From Relaxation to Renovation Before We Even Unpacked - Part 3

Part one HERE

Part two HERE

So, no, it wasn’t the postcard-perfect trip to Cuernavaca that I’d promised, but it did become a story. 

A story about our family. 

About hard work. 

About accomplishing something together. 

About coming full circle. 

Thirty years ago, I used to run up and down the hallway over the carpeted floor. I jumped on the couch while blasting “We Will Rock You” on the record player, climbed up to the roof, and leapt down into the garden like I was invincible. 

Back then, the house was alive with my childhood adventures. 

The trees in the yard transformed into spaceships. 

The street became a racetrack for our bicycles. 

We built makeshift ramps that collapsed as often as we did, sending us tumbling to the ground and leaving us with bruised elbows and scratched knees. 

But those injuries were badges of honor. 

And then we left. A new city, a different life. And many different adventures I will later share.

But the house, the streets, and the memories became a kind of touchstone for me, a place where my childhood had its brightest moments.

And while I had been back in town over the years, I had never truly returned.

Not like this. 

But I always felt like my story in this city wasn’t complete. 

Like a few more chapters still needed to be written. 

Admittedly, this whole process was not how I had envisioned it. Instead of lazy afternoons playing catch with the kids in the garden, we were knee-deep in grime, hauling out old junk, and trying to breathe life back into a house that time (and its most recent tenant) had not been kind to. 

But there were small victories: 

- Power-washing the patio until we could actually see the floor again. 

- Clearing the garden until it looked like, well, a garden instead of an overgrown junkyard. 

- Fixing every lock on every door (I never thought this would be as satisfying).

- Painting what used to be my childhood bedroom, a room that’s now my kids’ room.

- Waterproofing the house, because when it rains, the sky literally falls.  

Four weeks. That’s how long it took us to transform that house. 

But you know what? 

I was just talking to a friend, and as I reflected on the whole experience, I told her that in some ways, maybe it was better this way.

Sure, there were moments of frustration, exhaustion, and that creeping feeling that we might never finish. 

But after all was said and done, I feel like we worked our way back. Together.

To keep the vacation spirit alive, we escaped for a weekend of glamping. The kids and Tania definitely deserved a couple of days of camping with a bit of luxury thrown in, no pitching tents or sleeping on the ground.

For two days, we swam in the lazy river, lounged in hammocks, roasted marshmallows, and let the stress of the renovation melt away. 

By the end of our trip, the transformation was complete.

What started as a house full of junk and grime became a home. Not quite new and with a few more details to sort out, but definitely clean and warm-filled with the echoes of our efforts, and our laughter. 

Would I recommend this as a vacation? Probably not.

But would I do it again? In a heartbeat. 

Coming back, rebuilding, and making something beautiful out of that mess as a family? 

That’s a story worth telling.