Callemonit Truths – There’s No Crying In Flipping Houses

As I mentioned in other posts, I was mostly a handyman…but on occasion I was hired to be the general contractor for house flipping…this particular renovation was one of the many reasons I felt compelled to create Callemonit…the house style was born from

times…the easily recognizable box shape like this

…efficient in design, with no space lost to multiple pitched roofs, dormers, or two story foyers…and it wasn’t constructed in the modern way of

with vinyl siding…or even the classic

of which I love…no, this house was a traditional make…my all time favorite

…a gorgeous gray with flecks of silver and red…the kind of house I would want for my own family…it had been sitting vacant for a couple years as result of foreclosure…the process it takes for a

to take over and resell a house is usually a long one…the bank doesn’t want the property…they want their

back plus interest…the realtor business is not their strong suit…and the owner of this house naively believed he could play off that fact and work out a way to keep it…I learned that depressing detail and more from overly informative neighbors…the usual along the

gossip…before I continue, I must share a disturbing observation…many people seem to take pleasure in others misfortune…like life is a competition and better them than me…surely sounds like the makings of a future Callemonit…anyway, apparently this guy was a professional

who also had a serious problem with

…so much so, both his business and marriage were failing…the wife moved out and took their six year old son…the husband vowed to make everything right with the bank and his family, even get his wife the

she always dreamed of…obviously, he couldn’t afford to hire someone…or even do it himself…nonetheless, after work he would come home to an empty house, begin

and demo the kitchen…when we took over, all that remained was an empty room with damaged plaster walls…and written on the

with a black

were drunken ramblings about the world and banks, the phone number for a

place, and messages of regret for the past, along with promises for the future…and always a pledge of love for his wife and son…he had probably planned on removing the plaster to add more of these

and reroute the plumbing…just like we ended up doing…but in the meantime, those walls served as a

for his wife and son to see when they came to get the rest of their things…and I think it might have worked a littlebut I’ll get back to that in a minute…upstairs was the son’s bedroom…the walls were painted a beautiful

and there were hand painted

of different sizes throughout…not stencils…I needed to paint over it all…but first I had to eat my lunch, which was pretty much the same thing everyday…a

and

and a

…so there I was, sitting on the dirty hardwood floor, eating, and looking at the walls…I fell into a daydream of what happened the day this husband and wife painted their son’s room…it was a Saturday…Dad painted the blue earlier, so it would be dry for Mom…she got out her

…and while she was painting the golden yellow stars, he was tackling all the white trim and doors…it was a good day…they reminisced about how they met in the paint store…he pretended to know styles of artist brushes…she knew he was full of

but appreciated his courage…plus she thought he was handsome…they also talked about the

…how excited they were…and how they couldn’t help but see a penis…they didn’t really want to know the sex, but they were actually glad they did…you know, with the nursery color and clothes and all…then they sat on the floor…the very same spot I was…shared a large

and polished off a bag of

…all the while, staring with pride at their awesome accomplishment…what they did together…I started to get choked up, fighting back tears…I thought about how my wife and I painted our son’s room together…green and yellow stripes for the nursery…and later this

for elementary school…so, what happened to this couple, this family?…nobody wants this

…nobody turns a house into a home with thoughts of losing it…when did they stop talking, confronting situations that bothered them, then working it through?…were they at a point of no return?…and what about the six year old?…how hard has his life become and will continue to be?…wait, remember the

in the kitchen…I told you I would get back to it…off to the side, not far from one of the father’s apologies was something different…not the same black marker and penmanship…this was written in red, from the son…I LOVE YOU DAD!…and it had this

drawn above it…and even more encouraging was what was drawn near the family on a smooth section of plaster…it was a perfect

…the kind of precision displayed by someone who painted flawless stars on walls…and then under everything was I LOVE YOU BOTH TOO!…I want to believe the was from the wife…but truthfully, I’m not sure…and I have no idea what came of that family…I hope and

they resolved their problems and are together today.

When people say I’m crazy for leaving construction, the money…I say Well, I only have one life, and I like writing more than fixing things…then I walk away and try to stay positive…not let them get me down.

…I think about that young couple…reading this blog and creating good habits…honest communication…sharing feelings…problem solving…staying together forever.

…hey, you know what…I have a follow-up for when people don’t like my decision to write and spread my message of Callemonit…I am still fixing things…people…I’m The People Fixer…haha!

If you liked this Callemonit post, please leave a comment about anything…for instance, what do you think happened to that young family?…also, please like and share on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks, Mark

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