Often in the silence you'll hear what what is needed

It's been a rather odd week.

Odd as in 'not normal' or different or unique. On many fronts.

With Spring Break coming to a close, coinciding with the Easter holidays my little family saw more of each other than we normally do, and while for some family groups this might spell chaos or danger, for us it was an enjoyable time to remember who we are individually and collectively. For while we each have our own roles that we play daily in our respective lives, we also share a bond that transcends those daily roles, and unifies as for better and for worse.

We marked Riley's height on his bedroom door casing on April Fool's day, apt I suppose, his head level and flat against the wooden trim, feet firmly planted on the floor, and I needed him to re-steady himself in position after the first marking because we did not believe where the line sat, so much higher than the previous record taken only six weeks earlier.

The second trial confirmed the first, and it shall be forever noted that he quietly grew an inch and a quarter in six weeks, momentarily measuring 5'-4" - at this rate his parents are in danger of being overtaken by summer's end. Eleven and a half years old, and hitting his first real growth spurt.

Saturday saw me complete a task that for some time has been rolling around my brain, an outcome that was inevitable, I knew, and one which Mother Nature has been slowly uncovering for me over the years.

I shaved my head.

Seriously.

For a number of reasons actually. I was continually headed (no pun intended) down that path a bit further each year, whether I liked it or not, and figured with spring now upon us it would be the right time to reveal what secrets lay hidden under the remaining areas of thick hair - did I have some hideous bump back there protruding unseen, or maybe a scar from childhood that would become much more evident without its protective covering? The answers to those questions are no, and no. The ol' bean looks quite well actually. And now's the time to get it used to the sun, before it turns my melon painful shades of red.

I've also found over the past year of running that my head gets very warm, very quickly, and traps massive amounts of heat up there, which quickly sends currents of perspiration cascading down my forehead stingingly into my eyes, and over the back and down my neck, testing the latest moisture-wicking properties of my running gear to the extreme.

Bald is much cooler. And aerodynamic too!

The mirror still hasn't quite figured out whose reflection it is sharing with me as I pass by, but I'm sure that will slowly become routine as well.

Maybe it was my newfound smoothness, or maybe the long weekend, I can't quite say which, but something had me reviewing a previous house renovation plan that we had decided wasn't the best solution to our problems, late into the morning hours Sunday night. I was drawn back to the ideas I had assembled on the screen, intrigued by the flow of spaces, and effortless solutions the drawing presented.

I had spent the three previous days in communication with the structural engineer as we finalized the lintel sizes and beam requirements and support framing necessary to reroute the loads from the current wall layout to the new design and was updating the drawings to place everything so we could apply for the necessary building permits.

As I checked and double checked the positions of floor joists, removing ceiling panels and measuring to a common reference point, making sure the drawings accurately reflected the existing conditions, I felt a change in the air. A curious palpable energy shift that left me uneasy but with much more calmness than I had been feeling all week.

It was with that quiet calmness that I revisited the earlier plan. And also with that same calmness that I confirmed the relocation of the basement stairs, the critical first step in the design and process of creating more space for the expanded kitchen, that I confirmed those stairs would not be able to be placed where we intended.

For with the relocation, the new stairway would have to be code compliant for rise and run dimensions (which our current 40 year old stairs are not) and the resulting changes would mean we'd be building a longer flight of stairs, and with the increased length, we'd run out of room at the base of the stairs for a landing that would also meet code. I couldn't just back the entire flight of stairs the required distance, due to the main support beam for the house and the necessary supporting framing for the new lintels and beams...

The new stairs were stuck between a rock and a hard place. And so was our plan.

The quiet calmness allowed me to linger in the midnight darkness of my office, accepting the circumstances of this dilemma, and understanding why I had been drawn to the other design earlier.

So much for lighting and tile samples. Now we're considering a plan to expand our living space by converting the presently under-used attached single car garage into the new kitchen and breakfast nook, complete with a row of windows overlooking the deck and backyard, and leaving those existing stairs right where they are. We'd be able to move the laundry upstairs, and expand the current dining room to formal dining room status; the living room would remain unchanged; and we'd close off the existing front porch area into a true front door entry with a door that actually faces the street...

Sure we'd lose the garage, but with the one year anniversary of my table saw accident approaching I'm very much aware that last year's new adventure began more lasting changes than previously thought. Unfortunately, with this latest discovery, our renovation plans may have to be rescheduled somewhat. Cuz if we're seriously looking at garage conversion / expansion, I'll need to clean that space out which means I need a new place for my tools, but then we'll also need to completely gut the interior of the garage space to allow for insulation and vapour barrier and floor framing...

I think it's time to listen for more silence...