The Work Underneath It All

A renovation update and a reflection on the parts of transformation that others may not see.

If you drove past my house right now, you’d probably have some questions. At this point, the old vinyl siding, fascia, gutters and downspouts are gone. What is left is even older wood siding and some peeling paint. The porch posts and railing? Also gone. The old concrete? Broken up and taken away. And for a short time, there was a big hole where the garage wall used to be.  There are temporary supports holding up the porch roof while the new concrete is poured. Basically, the house looks worse than it did when we started this project. But, from my perspective, it is already an absolutely beautiful thing.

I’ve been watching the carpenters work with focus and determination through this first phase of the renovation. It is a step that takes patience because the payoff is not immediate. And, almost none of what they’ve done in these early weeks will be visible in the finished home. Yet, they have stayed the course without cutting corners.

What Home Renovations Have Taught Me About Transformation

So many people want to speed past all the mess and get to the “finished product”. I used to be that way, too.  Constantly thinking, “I just need to finish this one thing and then I can relax”  but the thing is, we will never be finished. There will always be something else to do. And, like any transformation whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual, this is a process. It is important not to rush through it.

Foundational work is not glamorous but it is deeply necessary. It is the work that happens before anyone notices. So much goes on before the compliments start and someone says “Wow! You seem different. What changed?”

It is that quiet, invisible phase where you strip away the old, support the in-between, and ultimately level-up.  This is the most important work of any transformation. In a house, or in life.

They Don’t Call it the ‘Messy Middle’ for Nothing

I think about the people I know, and maybe you’re one of them, who are somewhere in the middle of a personal transformation. Maybe you are newly divorced, retired, unhappy in your career, or an empty nester who’s main desire in life was to be a ‘good mom’.  

You realize you are not exactly who you were before these events and you may feel lost or overwhelmed not knowing what comes next.  The good news? You are not lost, you just haven’t become the next version of “YOU” yet.  

Welcome to ‘the messy middle’.  The time when the old is gone and the new isn’t here yet.  You’re basically exposed walls and temporary supports, wondering if any of this is going to hold.

Here’s what I want you to know: the work you’re doing right now,  the work that no one can see yet, is the most important work! It is the foundation of the ‘You’ you are becoming.

This work might look like:

• Journaling. The kind where you scribble random things down just to get them out of your brain so you can stop the 2AM thought spiral.
• Meditation. Even five minutes of quiet where you practice returning to your own thoughts.
• Mindset work. Noticing the stories you tell yourself about what’s possible for you while being curious and challenging negative, self-limiting beliefs. 
• Moving your body. Not to achieve anything other than reminding yourself that you actually have a body.  Yes, people who are ‘stuck in their head’ do often forget there is more to them.  
• Eating in a way that feels like self-care. Not punishment, not perfect, not a plan, simply choosing foods that make you feel like you matter to yourself.
• Making something. Anything. A meal, a painting, an outdoor planter with spring blooms, or even rearranging a corner of a room that has been bothering you. Creative acts, even small ones, create an internal shift.
  

None of this seems impressive from the outside. The people in your life may not notice anything for a while. You might not feel certain anything is shifting at all. But it is. I promise you it is. You are installing the house wrap, pouring the footers, and building the new frame. You are doing the foundational work that supports the next version of you.

It Doesn’t Happen Overnight (Even When It Seems That Way)

I’ve seen it happen so many times. Someone goes through a period of quiet, invisible work: therapy, daily walks, returning to a creative practice, telling themselves a difficult truth, and then something shifts. A decision gets made. An opportunity shows up. They step into something new.

And everyone around them says ‘How did that happen so fast?’ 

It didn’t. It happened over months of work that nobody saw. The visible change is real, but the invisible, foundational work made it possible.

The quality of what shows to others will be entirely determined by the quality of what doesn’t. I think that’s worth sitting with, wherever you are in your own process right now.

Where We Are – Craftsman Cottage Renovation Update

So here’s the official update, for those keeping track:

• All existing siding, fascia, trim, gutters, and downspouts have been removed
• House wrap installed and trimmed to fully seal the exterior walls 
• Areas prepped for new siding and for the new pillars at the front entry
• Porch roof temporarily supported while all concrete floors — front, side, and rear — were removed, along with the concrete steps
• New concrete poured and finished with a stamped wood plank pattern 
• Garage entry door, window, and the wall closing off the original garage opening all removed; new concrete footer dug and poured to level the foundation; wall rebuilt with a proper door opening and new entry door installed
• New Portico framed out
• New three seasons room (formerly the covered side porch) framed out
• We have a few of the new windows now, too!  They are ahh-mazing!!

 

It’s a lot. And once the house is finished, most of it will be completely invisible to others. But not to me.

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