Gearing up for construction

We stay at different houses in Mérida every time we come down and I always find things in each house that make me say, "I want that!"

High ceilings. "I want that!" Lots of large windows and doors. "I want that!" A rooftop patio. "I want that!"

I'll often bring a tape measure and my small notebook. Measuring things out and taking photos so that I can incorporate these ideas into a possible future house. I am loaded with photos and measurements.

I hope I wasn't an absolute nightmare for our architects to work with.

But there comes a time when decisions have to be settled. You can't have everything. Having everything cool you've ever seen in a house would result in an aesthetically unpleasing franken-casa. 

Being more set in stone now as we close in on breaking ground means that fewer and fewer of the "cool" things I see in houses can be worked into ours. So my house envy turns to somewhat smaller things.

Now it's the reverse osmosis systems, the solar systems, even the surge protection for the appliances. The light switches! These are the small details that I take reference photos of and search Google to daydream about.

These are also the types of details that let you know how real this is all becoming. Yeah, we still have tiles and colors and light fixtures to decide on. But when you start thinking about the dishes and coffee maker, everything starts to feel exceptionally palpable.

Hopefully, our permits are all approved in the next week or two and then things will actually start to happen. The basura at Casa Basura will start to be cleared away and the excavations will begin. Casa Basura will give way to a new casa, for now a nameless seed.

Sometimes, my house envy gives me weird twinges of buyer's remorse. As I walked back from the land to our rental house after being stymied by the changed lock, my brain wandered and I wondered if this is the best use of our money, if we'll truly get to enjoy it or if it will just become a long-term pain in the butt. Is the layout absolutely the right layout? Should I have taken more time analyzing it and making changes?

I wondered if this is the right area for us. Sure, if la plancha ever becomes a reality, it will be a wonderful spot. But should we have waited to see if the park ever does become a reality? Should we be living on the beach instead?

It doesn't take long being back in the cold and snowy North Dakota winter for me to get over any buyer's remorse.

Ultimately, it's a good investment and I know we'll enjoy it. I think the longer we wait, the more expensive building would become and we'd probably never save or invest enough to keep up with the rising construction prices. The layout is great. Yes, there will always be other things you'd like, but you can't simultaneously have a house on the beach that also is on a cliff overlooking a beautiful vista with mountains in the background and a river running through it and a movie theater and... you get the point.

This is going to be our house and we're going to love it for that. There will always be houses that we enjoy for different reasons, but this house will someday be our home.