Construction and remodel are words that are synonymous with Clausing. Another phrase heard often in this household is “We’ve got company coming tomorrow! Quick, we need to remodel the house!” In preparation for guests, most people clean up the guest room and make the rest of the house presentable. But Clausings just can’t do the expected. We have to out-do everyone else, or something. Well, that’s what I would accuse the men in this house of, but the reality is that guests are the most powerful motivators to get stuff done around here. Having men in the family who are ‘in the trades’ is somewhat contradictory. It would make sense that having such talent and skill in the family means that projects are finished and the house is complete. But here’s why that's wrong. Men who have been working physically all day on other people’s houses, do not come home and work on their own. That’s a fact. So the ability and skill-set is present, but the enthusiasm takes a sick day.
The last two visits from my sister and her family, resulted in the rush to complete two large projects around the house. My brother seems to think that its not just any guest that creates this push, but rather, the important guests that need to be impressed and catered to. I’m not too sure how accurate that is, but he may be on to something.
There are always projects that have been planned and talked about again and again. The plans are drawn up, the logistics are figured out, the ball just needs to get rolling. And it would make sense that if these projects need to be completed by the time the company arrives, that work would get started weeks or months in advance. Nope.
“Ok, Natalie is coming next week and we don’t have enough room for her and the boys. Hurry, convert the garage into two bedrooms and a bathroom! Go!”
“That bedroom needs to be a dining room, and Natalie will be here in a few days. Pronto!”
“Hi, we are remodeling our bathroom and the tile needs to go in today. What do you have in the store that I can take home with me right now?”
“Oh, you only have one countertop option that I can have today. Perfect! I’ll take it!”
It’s just how we work, literally. As a result, you’d think that our house would be a jumbled up hodgepodge of inconsistency, and to an extent it is. But what house boasts of perfection? And we’ve all been to that fearful house that is so perfect that it drives people away. We feel comfortable in a house that is quirky and a little rough around the edges because it shows that a family lives here. Our house is clean, and when the work does get done, we have high work standards, so the job is done right. But I kinda like the story we get to tell about all the mayhem that goes into our house projects. I like giving people the tour and telling the history of each room. “Well, a long, long time ago, this room used to be the family room, and then it was the garage slash laundry room slash water heater room, and now it is (fill in the blank).” I like that we are the only owners of this house. I like that the story that is told, is our story, no one else’s. And I love scrambling around until the very minute that our guests drive up the driveway.
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