After living in our little house for 40 years, we are about to make a big change. We are growing!

The addition I have designed will more than double the footprint of our home. My kitchen will be more than twice the size it is now, opening out into a large common area where we can welcome guests in comfort. We will add 2 full bathrooms and two new bedrooms. There is even room for the Steinway, and lots of nice light. It’s a dramatic step for our little family, and one that is long overdue.

There is something good in this for each of us, and many more good things for us as a family. Even the house itself will breathe easier, as the existing rooms benefit from the addition of more space. I look forward to living in a house that is less cramped and cluttered. When it is complete, the new footprint of the house will have two wings on either side, and a section that extends out in the middle, which is our current garage-TV room. I have jokingly taken to saying how much the floor plan reminds me of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s historic house in Charlottesville, Virginia. Just like the image on the nickel, but minus the slaves.

In the days to come, I have a great deal of digging out and downsizing to do – especially in the Laundry Room, the place where everything without a home seems to seek refuge. That will have to come to an end to allow for the kitchen to flow into that realm.

My life will be different as this process unfolds. Each day I will have to quickly get my chores done. This will allow me to spend the rest of my waking hours assisting with the build. I am more excited than I can say, up for the challenge, and only a little nervous. Somewhere in that schedule, I need to hold space for my exercise, sleep, nutrition, and water consumption. It is very important to me that I hold firm to my course.

Indeed, I am glad I took this leap toward health. Since September, I have been in the Kaiser Medical Weight Management program. It is a journey that, so far, has me 68 lbs lighter. While that seems like a lot, I still have a long way to go. I try to keep small, 5 lb goals, so I don’t get overwhelmed and give up. Even though I am only nearly halfway to my total goal of losing 130 lbs, I definitely feel 100% more alive, healthy, cheerful, and physically capable. I will need all this renewed energy – and then some – if I am to put in the long days of hard work that surely wait for me on the road ahead.

With God’s gracious help, we will all pull together and do great things. And hopefully, we will have a new house by Father’s Day.