For most of the past five years, my day is neatly divided into life work and life at home. There is a 40-minute commute that separates the two worlds that allows me to let go of one life and prepare myself for the other. But the past couple weeks have been an around-the-clock mix of remodeling my house, working on the website from home, and watching the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. Sometimes I do all three at once: I wait for my grout to dry as I write a new article on my laptop while I sneak peeks of the Suns game.

Regardless of what job I’m working on, I have an NBA playoff game on in the background. Unlike a movie or a TV show, you don’t have to pay attention to every detail of the game to know what’s going on. You can jump in at any point and get into it. Traveling over the past five years has kept me from following any team, so it’s a lot of fun to become a fan again. I think about the Suns all the time. Literally, every other minute a Suns thought will pass through my mind. I caught the fever.

Finding Refuge
It’s only when my life changes that I am more compassionate and understanding with other people. I mean, I assume most people come to this coffee shop (where I am now) because coffee shops are cool and it’s a fun place to go. Those are the biggest reasons I’ve sat here so many days before. But I’m here today because there is no concrete dust, no wet paint, and nothing to trip on. Everything is where it should be. I can only appreciate these things because my life has changed. I’m sure some people come through that door and find refuge in different ways.

Buying Stuff

I’ve spent more time and money at Lowes, Home Depot, and Ikea than I care to admit. Yesterday I spent 35 minutes sitting on a bench at Ikea waiting for them to bring out my furniture and cabinets. There was nothing to do but stare out the window at the parking lot, waiting for them to call my number. How boring is that? If this would’ve happened on any Saturday at home in the past five years, it would’ve sent me into an anxious panic because there were too many things to do. But yesterday I just leaned my head against my cart and prayed. I’m glad I don’t panic anymore.

So I bring home thousands of pounds of stuff to make my house more livable and luxurious. After long day of manual labor, walk into the backyard and I lay down on a thin sleeping pad and a sheet and I go to sleep.

The fresh air at night is a healthy contrast to the dust inside, plus it’s been unseasonably cool. Sleeping under the stars is the way to go. If I wake up up in the middle of the night, I don’t first look at the glowing alarm clock and get frustrated. I look at the stars. Birds sing to me through the whole night. Sometimes they’ll even be on the ground next to me when I wake up. The the best part is that the sun wakes me up gently. It’s great.

See the finished remodel