Homeowner's Angst

When you're a howmeowner, the world is not always a bright and sunny place. Things go wrong and you are the one who has to fix them.

This spring I noticed a lot of black grit on my front porch and wondered where the heck it was coming from. I thought maybe the dreaded squirrels were scratching at my roof shingles but then I realized my roof shingles were actually disintegrating. Brown patches were appearing among the black on my 20 year guaranteed shingles which had been applied only 13 years ago!

No problem, I thought...before I tried phoning the roofing company which had installed them. But they'd gone out of business. Hmm!

Now my old attitude would have been to rant, rave, and worry myself sick but I've developed a new attitude over the past years. Don't fret over what you can do nothing about. So, I'm not fretting but thinking in a positive note. I did get 13 troublefree years out of the shingles and I was considering reroofing the house before I sell it in a few years. I'll just have to do the job sooner, that's all.

I've also decided to waterproof the side of the house where a trickle of water came in during our storm of the year last month. My attitude about this is that it will take away another niggling worry and that will give me more peace of mind.

Where will the money come from?? When you own a house free and clear the bank is very happy to offer you a generous line of credit. My attitude is...it can be paid back when the house is sold in the future. No worry...just sign a check.

If my husband was alive I wouldn't want him to be doing any of this work himself , anyway, so this is the way it has to be. Like in all areas, you do what you have to do, right?