When Things Go Wrong

When things go wrong, it's always the wrong time for these things to go wrong. Like, when you're on holidays, or when you have to leave on a business trip the next day or when you've just sank every penny into a recent renovation and you can't even afford a ladder to see what the problem may be. When things go wrong, it's always in the wrong room, like your daughter's, who doesn't understand why she can't play in her room. It always seems to be in areas that you thought were ok, that weren't on the rolling list of 'to do's', that you or a professional had assessed and checked off as one of the few things you wouldn't have to tackle while living in the house.

When things go wrong, it always seems to involve elements that you knew you didn't have to deal with in your area, like water (Calgary's considered semi arid) (REALLY?!) And it always seems to be a bit of a mystery how it even happened? (newer roof, water seeping into Lily's room - hunh?) When things go wrong, it will always cost more than you expect and force you to react dramatically in effort to figure out how to pay for the things gone wrong (should I take on a second job, should we just sell the house, do we need to live in a hotel for 2 months while we fix it?)

Sometimes, when things go wrong, you get so consumed with figuring out how to right your wrong that you lose your wallet in the airport on the way to your business trip, miss your flight and have to re-book when you find your wallet, costing you $157 to change the flight, but luckily, you're so upset that you start bawling to the ticket agent who then waives the fee because she feels so sorry for you...

But after you get some breathing room from the thing gone wrong, and realize that there's no need to panic, the house isn't going to fall down, you will find the money to fix it; you realize that this thing gone wrong was somewhat of a blessing. For example, when checking for the leak in the attic, we found out that the kitchen fan simply sucks air into the attic and doesn't vent to the outside. 55 years of kitchen grease ripe for a fire are up there. We also found a mint condition Hasbro game dating to 1967 stored in the rafters. Better be a fun frickin' game that gives us years of joy...

In addition to their propensity for poor timing, old houses in general are challenging. It's part of the whole experience of restoring a heritage house; the good, bad, ugly, stinky, and frustrating that only adds to its layered past. And in the end (if there ever really is an end) these war wounds heal and evolve (hopefully) into to an incredible sense of pride that you actually made it through without burning down the house and divorcing your partner... Someday your thing gone wrong will simply be a good story to tell your friends and family.

Someday.... Not today, though.

LP