Ryan and Sara's Journal: Page 2

 READ RYAN'S MOST RECENT ADDITION

(Submitted Saturday, June 02, 2007)

Now I bet you think you know what happens next! I’d like to report that Ed McMahon pulled up with the publishers clearing house prize patrol touting an array of confetti canons and helium filled balloons, but it was just a phone call!! However, all joking aside it could have been the prize patrol and a million dollars and it wouldn’t have mattered nearly as much. I remember saying shortly before Christmas that it would be sweet if we got the answer then so that it could be the ultimate Christmas gift. I know that was incredibly lame, but that’s something I would actually say! Anybody who knows me would agree that I’m a very tacky guy. Of course this dream did not happen for Christmas. It happened three days after Christmas—close enough I guess!

It was the Thursday just past Christmas morning that we received a phone call around nine in the morning. Sara happened to be out that morning, but I was just starting my morning routine and flat on my back. Normally, I don’t take telephone calls when I’m getting up because I find it difficult to talk. I’ll talk more about that at another time! The important thing to remember is that I took the call when I was told that Sandy was on the line. In the few seconds that it took for me to take the receiver I experienced a multitude of emotions, but in the end I felt that it had to be a yes. I mean who would call and say no just after Christmas—really!!

Sandy wanted to let us know that we were chosen as the next partner family as soon as she could, and with Christmas as the back drop, there really couldn’t have been a better time. She said that we were accepted in principle as the next Habitat Home Owners, but since their December board of directors meeting did not have enough members to vote, we would need to wait until January’s meet for a formal yes. It sounded good enough to me, but I just needed to wait for Sara to get home so that I could share the good news.

Lets save that for next time, but just remember this Sandy, come dedication day, I’m gonna have an Ed McMahon mask with your name on it!

(Submitted Saturday, June 08, 2007)

It wasn’t long after I had received the message from Sandy that Sara had returned home. I did not tell her right away. Why, this was just too valuable a piece of information to just blurt out. The release of this information had to be revealed in a calculated way! So after she got settled, we sat back to watch a bit of television. I waited for the appropriate segue about erecting a house; the only thing that came on was an ad for Viagra. I took my cue and asked her what colour she wanted to paint the house? Then I asked a ton of similar questions, just like the one before. That was until she started to get suspicious of something; I couldn’t hold it any longer—it just blurted out of my mouth so quickly that it sounded like marshin tong! Blableepida pikhfc zudghtc! So I told her again and we got incredibly excited together, then she punched me on the arm. I guess I kind of deserved it!

We were very excited about receiving the great news. We began to celebrate by having a celebratory lunch, which was proceed by telling everyone we knew. It was a great feeling to know that we would finally be able to realize our dream of owning a home—and one we actually helped build! We had been impressed with the habitat crew and this sealed the deal. We would officially have the chance to work with a truly talented group on people.

(Submitted Sunday, June 9th, 2007)

So the cat was out of the bag, we would be the recipients of the next habitat home! This was all fine and dandy, but after we received a yes Habitat and Sandy all but fell off the map for about a month. I was starting to wonder if I had actually heard a voice telling me that we would be the next owners by that point. Sara would have killed me if that were the case! When we were contacted in late January we were told that we would need to eventually sign some documentation to make it all official, but before that we would get the chance to sit down with the architects to discuss what we would like to see in our new house.

This was a great moment, because we finally got the chance to see something on paper—hold it in our hands, wrinkle it up, and even smell it. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually took a nibble of the plans when nobody was looking! The point is that it was real. We were holding the first real, tangible, material manifestation of what would become our home. This was a truly incredible moment. Prior to this we had seen the lot; luckily there was snow on the ground or we would have pitched tent on the site immediately.

Prior to meeting with the architects we were sent three conceptual drawings to review. This allowed us to generate a list of questions and ideas so that we could be prepared. When the architects arrived, we all discussed the three different conceptual drawings that left a little leeway for our ideas, but much of it was already decided. The size of the lot dictated a lot of the variables and it was not incredibly big. We would have liked to have a bigger yard, but when you weigh that against actually owning a house; a bigger yard fell short in comparison.

Shortly after that meeting we decided that we would like to see a slight change to the floor plan so we drew up a sketch for review and sent it along to the architects. Agin, they were limited by space, but when the actual blueprints were revealed our proposed changes had been incorporated into the overall design.

I had suggested that they build a secret den below our house that had an underwater opening into Lake Ontario that came equipped with an amphibious vehicle. This would have allowed me to live out my childhood fantasy of being the wheeled avenger, bearing nothing but a spandex suit, cape, and utility belt. You know the line! Wherever danger lurks, I’ll be there to deflate it! But they said no.