"I need a place to put the lawnmower. The garage is just too small," Jake tells me. "OK," I replied. This is the phrase that started it all. I didn't think too much about it but that only shows my naivete. By now, after eight years of marriage I should know how my husband operates. He gets an idea in his head and by the time he mentions it to me, he has already put hours of thought into it. If I don't like the idea I better shut it down right away. Once the train leaves the station, there is no turning back. Jake has two speeds when he does a project. Off and light speed. When I didn't hold up the stop sign he took that as a green light to go. A few weeks later he brought it up again. "So where do you want the shed in the backyard?" he asked me. "Huh?" I questioned, "Oh! Are we really doing this?"
In my mind's eye I started to envision what he had in mind. This is what I thought would take up residence in my backyard.

For those of you that know anything about my husband, you are chuckling right now. As time went on, I realized that what I had pictured in my head and what Jake had in his were vastly different. My first clue came when he asked me what chunk of patio we should take out. Then he wondered what window we should block. He then came up with the idea of having a "small" clubhouse in the top for the kids to play in. The vision in my mind had to change a bit.

It was when Jake started calling the city and asking about height restrictions that I realized I had completely lost control of the situation. Alas, permits were obtained and construction began. Jake toiled relentlessly. He would rush home at night, shove down some dinner and rush outside to work until he could no longer see in the dark. He spent hours on the computer googling the best products to use. And thanks to us Home Depot had a record breaking year in sales. But I am happy to report that it is complete. Done. Finished! Contrary to what I had pictured, it turned out to be exactly what Jake had in mind.

Yup... there it is. The Taj Mahal of sheds that graces my backyard. I give Jake a hard time but I must admit that he did a fantastic job on it. I am proud of him that he carried through on his vision. It is the most elaborate clubhouse I have ever seen. Fully equipped with cable TV, heater, 2 motion detector lights, ceiling fan, carpet, bead board, deck, scalloped siding, and vaulted ceiling (ten feet high!). No, I am not trying to sell a house on the MLS. I know it sounds like it. Please know that I am not bragging. I am the first to admit that he went WAY over the top on this thing. I just want you to see how crazy all this actually is. So, there it is. The saga that has been our life for over a year. I just hope that the kids love it as much as he does and it is put to good use. We are off to a good start though. Santa loved it so much that he moved our tree up there on Christmas Eve and we celebrated there.

There is one tiny little fact that I must share with you though. A fact that makes me laugh and sob in the same moment. I was getting the kids out of the car the other day and I tripped over something as I was headed into the house. When I looked down I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. I tripped over the lawnmower. Yup... that's right. The lawnmower is still resting peacefully in the garage.