The Restored to Better experience here is the documenting of one such journey to embrace the virtue of patience and all that entails. I am being developed in this character in not one major life area, with the complete planned restoration of our old farmhouse into our mid-mod dream home, but with this blog and any business that springs forth from that.

Each of these in itself is a challenge of the greatest order. I should know, I have been working to blog and build a business that serves for over six years now. And we have had our little suburban oasis property for 11 years now and our design and building team lined up for over two. It is a process. It is a challenge. It is painstakingly slow. And I know that it is developing me and, I pray, it will help you, too. Step by step, increment by increment, sometimes imperceptibly tiny improvements that lead to giant advances.

I am feeling quite like Shirley McLean’s character in Terms of Endearment right now. If you haven’t seen the movie or are too young to know who Shirley McLaine is (really?), let me add some color (and please, google the hospital scene).

In the movie, Shirley McLaine plays the Mom to Deborah Winger’s portrayal of her only child. It is a difficult relationship and Mom is pretty self-interested and high strung. But when her daughter is hospitalized and needs pain medication, Mama Bear comes out strong. She and her daughter have had to wait until 10 until she can get the next dose of meds. So Shirley comes out to the nurse’s station to remind the staff that it is 10. When she is met with more delays and please waits and not my problems, she loses her ever-loving shit.

It is a classic film scene and is still so freaking poignant that I cried again just now as I watched it for the first time in years.

And that is how I feel right now.

I “went out to the nurse’s station” by sending a friendly email reminder to check in with the architect regarding our first set of drawings. He did reply, rather promptly and I am grateful for that. But the answer was NOT what I wanted to hear. You should have your initial drawings on Wednesday for review and then we will get together to discuss, but oh by the way, first I am going out of town. What the fudge?!!! (oh thank you, Kimmy Schmidt) Seriously?!! You said 3 weeks! Three weeks is tomorrow, not mid next week!

And that do you mean that even after I get the drawings I am going to have to wait a week and a half to get together to discuss?!!!! This is on top of having to wait nearly two weeks to get your proposal and then 3 weeks after that to get on your schedule (when at first convo it had been 2 weeks) and then (supposedly) 3 weeks (now 3 and a half) for the drawings to be complete until now.

That is 8 going on 8 ½ fudging weeks ALREADY!!! And I have no initial drawings, much less final drawings, approvals, final bids or any gosh dang idea when we can START the stinking project!!!!

For the love of all that is holy and great, please. Merciful, Father. Pleeeeasse let this get sorted out sooner rather than later. …ahem, thank You.