Coming home is just the beginning

 
Susan and I completed purchase of our house while I was processing through Fort Dix on my way through Iraq. As a result, she’s been living here for over a year and a half, while I’ve only been in place for five months. She went through moving all our possessions here, then a winter alone, all while working full-time and doing what she could (our son did most) for her increasingly ailing mother (who, in fact, died the day before I arrived home).

The point is, by the time I got here, the house was a mess.

( Ridiculously boring details under the cut )

Make no mistake, the house still isn’t a showplace. It isn’t even ordinary messy. But it’s no longer a disgrace, and there’s time to improve yet further.