I was tinkering on the brink. I was losing my mind. I was on the precipice facing a gulf, the putrid abyss of a nervous breakdown. It was all because of renovating our home. When we started with this colossus of a task, we were actually excited, can you believe that? We were looking forwards to all the hard work and the sweet rewards to be reaped by the end of it. I pictured us sitting on our newly bought couch, smelling the fresh living room paint, sated and fulfilled. Sadly things didn’t pan out that way.
I don’t know if I’d be here today if it wasn’t for the kitchen designers. Melbourne companies are surprisingly good in this area, compared to some other types of reno companies. Unfortunately, we found them too late and the bathroom renovations were the last thing we did to the house. We started with the kitchen and tried to do everything by yourself. My hands were calloused, blood-swollen, looking like they were about to burst and burning hot. I’d lie awake at night clenching my jaw against the shooting pains in my spine. And that’s only just the beginning. I found so much with my partner that I threw a box of tiles at him. I thought that was the end of our relationship for sure. If we couldn’t renovate together how on earth were we going to live together?
We persevered. I don’t know why but we did. When we got round to the bathroom, some stroke of providence brought to our attention the bathroom renovations. Brighton is just one of the places they can service, so we felt it was fate. While they were doing all the tiling and design, we finally got a break, and of course they did the things we couldn’t do ourselves like the plumbing and electrical. It was during this hiatus that I looked down at my feet on the edge of that proverbial dark trench… and stepped away towards the light.