Goal Renewal

I’m not entirely certain where 2017 went, but by the end of it, I was glad it had left. What started out as a super fun year: second AREsketches book published, winning of the Young Architect Award, some travel, and some #L2HQ projects done….ended in a blaze of crazy project schedules, weather delays, and numerous family health problems.

Note: This is the thirty-fourth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks. This month’s topic is “Renewal.”

Specifically, at the end of the year – from Christmas Eve to New Years Eve – I spent my days in a hospital, working on my laptop, being present for the moments of alertness we were blessed with at the end of my Grampa’s life. He went from fully-functioning the morning of the 24th to going to see Grandma the night of the 31st. The stubborn man that he is, I don’t know of any other 94 year olds who go from fully independent to end of life without spending time in a wheelchair or nursing home. The man who made his list of goals and plans and stuck to them by the T carried through with that personality trait right up to the end.

I am lucky to have been able to have final moments with him, however fleeting they may have been. It is a substantial hole in my heart, but I know that he lives on in the many skills and stories he passed down to me. Years and periods of renewal start at different moments for different people and cultures, but this year’s transition from 2017 to 2018 was very much a closing of a chapter in my life. And so, it’s with that in mind that I take yet another lesson from his playbook and plan ahead for 2018: goal renewal style.

Grampa T taught me how to use most of the tools in their woodshop (no small feat) before I graduated grade school. Our trips to the local library for the next batch of books were outings you could count on like clockwork. He was always interested in hearing what we learned at school. He never missed a soccer game, basketball game, or track meet – and there was a high likelihood he took stats and would tell my sister and I how to improve. His love for learning and improvement is passed on in us. It was expected that if you saw grandpa, he had a tiny spiral notebook in his chest pocket with a pen – to take down the next idea, plan or reminder as life happened. As I grow and reflect, it’s no surprise to me that I find myself mimicking those organizational habits. Instead of a spiral notebook, I carry around a Leuchtturm 1917 dot grid notebook. Last year was officially my first year going through one intentionally as calendar/task list/reminder/habit tracker/blog or idea space/board note space/trip and book list.

I’ve already started my journal for 2018, but the larger point is that I am doubling down on learning, sharing, and growing this year. A goal renewal and growth of this year from last year’s list is to not only continue to read, but to share more frequently about the good stuff I’m reading, what I’m learning, and how I think we can continue to improve our profession and the built world. Expect to see more sketches, more blogs, more pictures, and more knowledge sharing. If you have something specific you want to learn, leave a comment down below.

Grampa and Grandma T worked hard and instilled that work ethic in my sister and I. They worked as many jobs as was necessary to support their family, went by with less when times were tight, and shared in the celebration when times were plentiful. They volunteered, did mission trips, traveled, and helped neighbors.

They did things that filled their souls.

This year, a goal renewal is to do more of that. Last year, I simply said “take me time” which is amoebic and hard to judge an outcome. What I learned from that is when I don’t specify what that time means, I’ll put it towards the house, or community service positions, and leave little left for me. I decided not to take all of my PTO because I wanted to have the extra funds (RATIO pays out up to 80hrs at the end of the year) for home renovation projects. I won’t do that again. On top of an emotionally draining holiday, I never had time to mentally reset. It made for a hard start to the year and I’m already working to counteract some of the “low fuel” warnings my body is giving me. What I learned is that my time off to reset, recharge, travel…simply be out of office and unplugged, has an exponentially greater value than being paid for not using that PTO. Sure, it will help pay for the bathroom, but I’m paying for stress and sanity at a higher price.

So this year, I plan to take all of my PTO. I plan to add as many side fun trips to the ends of business trips as I can, take weekends away with the pups, hike more, spend more time with friends and family, have people over when the backyard is done, and generally live into the “play hard” portion of “work hard, play hard.” I’m already doing the first; it’s time to value my downtime, and myself, more and make sure I live into the second. And live up each second.

Don’t you worry, it won’t be all fun and games this year. This year, I’m tightening down on the goal renewal to make progress on #L2HQ. This is partially because I’m financially and strategically ready to do so, but also because I’ve hit PEAK DUST…or rather hit the limit on my ability to consistently deal with construction dust.

Grampa may not be here to guide me through the process or tell stories of the homes they’ve lived in, but with each swing of a hammer I’ll think of him. Every time I spread out his flour sack drop cloths, I’ll smile in memory of our first painting project. And while I’ve lost a wealth of historical knowledge, not all is lost. I have his son, my papa elf, to continue as torch-bearer for the sharing of wisdom, extra muscle when needed, and receiver of rolled eyes when the story goes on just a bit too long.

This year I plan to at a minimum get the master en suite done, which will complete the work on the second floor. I also plan to finish the dining room, and then finish the exterior painting and back deck/fence when the weather gets nice. From there, if time and money are still available, I plan to tackle the kitchen and first floor bath. That will finish off all major construction at #L2HQ….for now. 😉

Grampa T gave my sister and I a love for ice cream. It was a well-known fact that ice cream was his favorite dessert because “…you always have room. It just melts between the cracks.” Some of my favorite memories are hearing stories of his trips or life lessons with Grandma over a bowl of frozen goodness.

SO…this kind of goes along with goal renewal 2, but I plan to remind myself to see the beauty in the everyday, the mundane, the typically unnoticed. I plan to give myself and others grace to be themselves and be happy. I plan to bask in the sunshine. I plan to laugh until I cry more times than I can count, touch the ocean, see a new country, and meet new people. In the process of doing things I love, I plan to give that love back out.

And I plan to ALWAYS eat the ice cream.

To see the take on “renewal” from other Architects, follow the links to the others in the #ArchiTalks group who are posting today on the theme:

• James Mehaffey – Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey) “Renewal (at Each Beginning)”
• Eric Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome) “Renewal – Re-Ranch”
• Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel) “renewal”
• Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum) “5 Tips for Harnessing Renewal to Advance Your Goals”
• Lee Calisti – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti) “get out of town renewal”
• Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz) “Renewal”
• Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect) “renewal: #architalks”
• Stephen Ramos – Buildings Are Cool (@BuildingsRCool) “No guts, no glory!”
• Tim Ung – Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung) “Break Routines”
• Meghana Joshi – IRA Consultants, LLC (@MeghanaIRA) “Architalks 34: Renewal”
• Samantha R. Markham – The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch) “reNEWal. new year. new goals”
• Larry Lucas – Lucas Sustainable, PLLC (@LarryLucasArch) “Renewal is Valuable for Heart and Hometown”
• Steve Mouzon – The Original Green Blog (@stevemouzon) “The 12 Steps of Sprawl Recovery”