Monday, May 2, 2011

My House

This was a post I wrote last week but I didn't publish it because I thought it was kind of stupid. But I'm publishing it now because I haven't posted anything for about two weeks, which makes me feel bad. My life needs consistency.

I had the sudden inspiration today to write about my house.

Compared to its neighbouring houses, my house looks a bit big. That's because its a single storey house that's had a level added on top. So really its the size of two houses. Its a pretty nice place but there's a few things about it that occasionally piss me off.

If you look closely, there's lots of little bits of dodgy construction around the house. There's big cracks on the walls around our front lawn because the soil has either eroded or sunken. The light switch for the toilet is outside the door. The doors don't shut properly in extreme weather because the wood contracts/expands. Our house was built by a construction crew owned by a family friend, whose crew mostly consisted of untrained apprentices. However, I think just a little more common sense and thoughtfulness from the builders would have been enough to make our house better. The toilet in the en-suite is squished in a tiny corner between the wall and the sink despite the huge empty space in the middle and the presence of an enormous bathtub we have never ever used. If you saw it you'd laugh.

I think my dad put a lot of thought into this house. He designed its layout and everything (though he had to get some developer guy to look over it) so I feel a bit bad when I think critically of it. Because of this, I've tried to change the way I think about my house. While I frustratedly tried to slam the bathroom door shut this morning I thought that all the annoying little things in the house give it a bit of character. It still pisses me off that my face is pressed to the wall when I take a shit but I imagine that someday as an adult I'll get all sentimental and nostalgic thinking about this house and all its little quirks. It kind of embodies some of the qualities I see in my parents. It's quite noticeable, a little dodgy and kind of tacky. But in the end, its my home which is always a good thing.

1 comment:

R said...

There's your belonging story for you :)