05 May A New Lease on Life

Who’da known that signing on the dotted line would’ve give me a new lease on life.

You see, I signed a lease today to stay in this little rental house I’ve been in for 6 months. The last few weeks have been very unsettling. The house went under contract to be sold. I was facing moving again. But it turns out the new owners want me to stay. They won’t tear it down and start building their dream home for at least a year.

I love this house. It’s nothing fancy but the whole back of it is windows. It overlooks an untamed wall of trees, full of birds, rabbits, crickets, and pure quiet.

This house is exactly what I needed after I moved out of my home of 25 years. It’s small, cozy, surrounded by lots of friends. My car repairman, familiar grocery store, and church are all within waking distance. I feel very protected here. My time in this house has allowed me to heal.

Signing that lease has spurred me to celebrate by treating myself to something really wild today – like a can of paint, some wild color – to paint over the drab beige in my bedroom.

Or maybe I can get a piece of carpet that’s really cool, really bright and cheery. And cheap. I could then fashion my entire room around what’s on the floor.

Maybe I’ll clean out this old BBQ pit. I could scour the demo yard and get some old brick to make a little sitting area around it.

I could build a fun, artistic garden area out back. You know, the kind I never built because I was afraid it would be viewed as too quirky to potential buyers coming through.

I can turn the basement wall into a concept wall where I could tack up poster boards, organizing each of my Paris days. Imagine the freedom to put holes in the wall. O’ lawdy.

Yeah, knowing this house will be torn down in one year is giving me the freedom to be totally me. Totally free to do the things I’ve wanted to do with the space around me. Sad I never did it in my old house. Especially since a little can of putty and paint could have patched ‘em up before selling it.

Wonder why we’re so inhibited to do things – little, simple things that change us. No telling what would happen if I let go of the big obstacles in my life.

So, with this new lease on life, what color should I paint my bedroom? Pumpkin, aquamarine? Or maybe coral . . .

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