Side Effects

Side benefits, actually.

My steel-toed work boots have seen a lot of use lately.

My husband’s place of employment still has not reopened. We don’t know if they will. The company was in some legal trouble before the pandemic and since it’s a medical office, reopening poses a few more challenges than it might for, say, a fast food establishment.

So, my husband is still jobless. This has meant that we are finally getting around to doing all the things that have needed doing around the house.

We are very close to completing the painting of the stucco. The parts that are left are going to be the hardest. Our lot slopes downward in the back so that the back side of our house is two stories. We have a walk-out basement that is partially finished. That’s a good thing and a bad thing … too much storage space. There is a deck on the back side that made painting that easier. But the sides are two stories tall.

Years ago when we painted the fascia, we did the highest parts by lying down on the roof and reaching over the edge. But you can’t do the eaves or the stucco that way.

Major parts of the deck rails have been repainted. On Saturday and Sunday, we painted the utility room. It’s now a cheerful, very pale yellow with a sage green trim. This is the first time that room has been repainted. And the house was built in 1991. It really needed it, but wasn’t something I wanted to tackle entirely on my own as I did with both bathrooms. Moving the washer is hard. It’s very heavy.

Mostly though, I’ve really enjoyed having Bernd home all the time. I know that some people might be having trouble spending 24/7 with their significant others, but that’s not the case for us. I married the guy because I wanted to spend my life and all my time with him. For a lot of years, our jobs interfered with that.

Yes, our finances will suffer if he never goes back to work full time. We might be able to manage if he works part time. But that will wait until there is a vaccine. We have talked and talked about this and decided that is the safest course for us.

On the up side of that is the fact that Bernd has been able to reduce the amount of blood pressure medication that he is taking. I told him for a long time ago that the main reason it was so high was the pressure and stress of his job. I think that now he believes me.

In my mind, there have been more benefits for us from this pandemic than otherwise. I consider us to be lucky.

Most likely, my well-worn and trusty steel-toed work boots will see a lot more work in the days to come.

I think that’s a good thing.