Dear curious reader,
(photo credits: sam)
In the last 10 odd days, we’ve had friends visiting. I’m not referring to those we’ve known from before in Singapore coming to stay with us. I mean people we’ve gotten to know since we bought this place a year ago. Notably, one of them had been the real estate agent who sold us this place. He came in, got a tour, had lunch and left saying this, “I’m so glad the house is being used.”
Every time we’ve had people return, there’s something different and I do apologise for being slightly introspective here, but it got me thinking about our understanding of a renovation process. In general, it moves fast. Primarily because it’s a home, and people do need to begin living in it, there’s a timeframe to which it’ll be sufficient enough for a handover. So there’s constant chasing, questioning of “is it done yet?” And for those who don’t know the amount of work that goes into reaching that stage, watching a timelapse, or worse, a “before and after” comparison, speed can be incredibly deceptive. Like we’re fairy godmothers that can make things happen with a swish of a wand.
I begun thinking about those who return. How their experience each time could be so different. Let’s take our first wave of residents, there was no useable toilet. Now there is. The second wave of residents, there was no kitchen, now there is. The third wave of residents, there was no library nook. (A post about this will come, my timeline to write and update about these bits are all over the place but I digress.) Anyway, now there is. And yet, we knew from the start that we would never be finished. We understood that. Those who have never been here, don’t. Those who have do.
There’s always something moving, something new that changes what we once knew about a corner, a room, even a wall. I hope that because it all comes in bits and pieces, spread throughout the various chapters, that we can afford to appreciate and really enjoy each update as it comes. If you find yourself a returning resident, you’ll get to relieve it in a different way. What you’ll remember about the place now has an additional layer. And another and another if you keep coming back. And yet, to quote from a community library we’re a part of in Singapore, you’re experiencing it all “in no great hurry.”
ash
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