Meditations on a Bed of Nails

Spent the day pulling nails out of the newly denude kitchen floor...sitting on a milk crate, pliers, crowbar, mallet, and nail set all close at hand.  After a while it was almost like some painful form of meditation (like lying on a bed of nails...I bet that could make your back ache too).

Despite the back pain I do love the “deconstruction” part of rehabbing.  You see bits and pieces of the lives that were lived in the home over generations.  The pencil marks on the floor where someone mapped out where the doors would go, the wear patterns, the mystery spot under the stove where the flooring was replaced with painted boards from somewhere else, they’re all like a homeowner’s version of scrawling “Kilroy was here…” on a wall.  They let me know that I’m just one of many people who has cared for and worked on this home.  I hope that those who come after me feel the same.