Dear curious reader,
Tapping on to what I’ve said from the previous page, the grocery list for this house is constant. There’s always something that needs to be fixed, to be changed, to be improved. So it’s very easy to recognise the impact of something new. Something that wasn’t there before and has irrevocably changed our lives for the better. You can be overcome by excitement when you first step in. As artists, which most of you who have been here, your fingers are practically twiddling with delight. We tell you things that are missing, i.e. we need new floors, walls etc. and you feel so compelled to work on it right away. Trust me, I get it.
Then, there’s also something extremely beautiful about people who move in the shadows. Those who choose to help with everything else. The repetitive chores that are so incredibly mundane, you wouldn’t raise your hand and ask to participate. That it is in fact, another blink and you miss it move. Because suddenly the house is reset, like how it was when you first walked in. The upkeep and maintenance of life here and how they want to be a part of that too.
Like Mich who is visiting for the 2nd time. Our laundry is just folded up in neat stacks. We've had comings and goings and they are there to help over turn the old sheets, replace them with new ones so that when more visitors appeared, things are ready. When one of us fell ill, they are in the kitchen preparing a soothing potion of yuzu, honey and ginger that burns every germ in your throat and hold the power to revitalise you within a day. (I’m calling it a potion because I’ve actually asked for the recipe, followed it to the tee and believe me, it did not taste as good as when Mich made it.)
Or Esther, on the first night of arrival, asked where the trash point was so that she could do it the next time. Who’d clean the messy paste off our tiling work. Mind you, she did not tile. She was purely cleaning up our mess. Who had, during a wild chaos of a 3-year old party held here, asked what’s my vision for decorations, then proceeds to executing - no questions asked. After which, holed up pretty much 70% of the actual day in the kitchen staying on top of the mess and dishes.
What I'm saying is that we've never explicitly ask for help on these things. And yet, the number of chores on our checklist are ticked off. There’s no documentation of the task being completed, just that it is. I’ve been thinking for weeks on how to vocalise my gratitude only to come up short. No matter how I’ve phrased it in my head, I know I’m not doing them justice. For them, it’s always about “What do you need?”, "What would make your lives easier?" To have that sensitivity, that initiative. They aren’t just adding to the house, they thought about us too.
Contribution comes in many forms. Many outlets. But you see, to me, these are the things that turn this house into a home. The kindest of hearts, the tender care that flows so naturally because that’s what you do when you want to protect the things you love.
ash
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