The Lift

We have struggled the past couple months with the decision of what to do about the stairs in our house. Our house doesn't have a bedroom or full bath downstairs. Now before you get concerned, this is a preemptive decision, Patrick is quite able at this point to go up and down the stairs, albeit a bit slower. One of the things that is pressed upon you at ALS support group is to always stay ahead of the curve when making decisions. You don't want to make decisions after you need something, instead make these in advance so that you are not caught off guard. This comes from folks who know and who've been there.

So, we met with contractors to potentially add a room to the downstairs with full bath, met with a mechanical engineer to consider a lift being installed in the house and looked at various single story homes for sale.  If I'm being honest, none of these options really appeals to Patrick or I, and it's been quite a painful process.

Although, I don't think there is a "right answer," we tried to narrow down the decision based on the emotional, financial and least stressful option. It's interesting the way we look at things now, when we originally purchased our house in Roseville, we assumed we'd sell it and move on within a few years.  Well that was over 13 years ago, and we're still here. Honestly we've put quite a bit of our heart and soul into this home and we have many wonderful memories. 

We did finally come to a decision, I wish we could say that it was clear cut or we feel that it's 100% right, but that's not possible. So, since neither of us could quite see leaving this house, we decided to remodel although it will not be easy. Prior to leaving for Europe, we made plans to install the lift and set a date for June with the engineer. 

It seems June came about quickly and we both realized the lift was scheduled to be installed.  I guess it's like cold feet, but we both agreed we are just not ready to have it installed.  I think the lift is a symbol of so many things, and although we will have to "take the plunge" sooner or later we're going to hold off for the moment.  Luckily, the engineer, Chris McIlwain, is completely understanding and although he couldn't cancel the delivery of the lift, the installation was postponed until we were ready. 

Well, the lift arrived yesterday - it is a big package and in the garage it sits... I'm not sure when we will decide to install the lift and my hope is it won't be needed for a long time to come. But if you journey into our garage, don't trip...