My Balcony: A Tale of Dreams Deferred

A little history on our home first. In 1994, we bought about 7 acres of land and built a 30 x 32, story and a half Cape Cod style home. Featuring 9-foot ceilings, 2×12 floor joists, and 6-inch walls, we added several other tweaks to make it special to us. I was the general contractor, and together with my wife Laura, we did a lot of the work ourselves. From plumbing to the septic system and drywall, we handled it all. Yes, 100-pound Laura and I hung most of the drywall. It was fun, but we took on much of the work because we couldn’t afford to hire it out.

We didn’t have a basement, just a crawl space, and no garage. Additionally, because of our rocky ground and the county requiring 48 inches of soil above the leach field, we needed an estimated 100 tandem loads of dirt. Unable to afford that, I rented a bulldozer and had a friend scrape the soil from all around the house, about a 200-foot diameter circle, pushing it towards the home to build it up before we could even break ground. Today, we pay for this makeshift solution with a moat around our home whenever there’s a wet spring or heavy summer storms. Laura calls it “Lake Maslyk.” Sure, we could bring in all the dirt now and pay for new grass, but I don’t mind it. It brings back memories whenever I see our moat.

Since those early years, we’ve added a garage, landscaping, a patio, decking, a hot tub, a sauna, and more. The big investment was a two-story room addition, which included a family room, a laundry room (our old one was a stacked washer and dryer in a closet off the kitchen), a master bedroom, and a master bath on the second floor, and a basement! The basement is just under the addition; we still have the crawl space under the original part of the home.

The Dream Balcony

Now comes The Balcony. We designed the addition using the original home’s prints, and I meticulously made changes on drafting paper for the permits. (Clients might laugh at this since my handwriting can be quite chaotic, but when I slow down, I can print well using an architect’s font, and draw very carefully.) I added to these drawings a balcony off our master bedroom that spanned the full length of the 25-foot addition. It cantilevered about 5 feet out with no support posts, featuring white picket-type vinyl railings and composite gray decking to match our gray siding. We installed a large sliding door so we could easily walk out of our bedroom onto the beautiful balcony.

I envisioned morning coffee while watching the sunrise, sipping wine or other beverages at night while watching deer frolic, and maybe even moseying down to the hot tub afterward. The balcony required extra engineering, materials, and labor, but I wanted it badly. I imagined it being so cool.

A Balcony Unused

Recently, I was in my backyard taking in the spring changes and glanced up at the still beautiful balcony. I thought to myself, when was the last time I was up there? Then, how many times have I actually used it? The answer is maybe three times, definitely under five, and it’s been 15 years, give or take! This realization kind of depressed me. Why haven’t I taken the time to use this beautiful part of our home?

I guess it’s because I wake up, clean up, get dressed, and leave. Then I arrive home, relax, eat, clean up, and hit the hay. So routinely, I’ve never taken advantage of that balcony. Laura hasn’t used it either.

Reflecting on Our Choices

Do you have a “Balcony” in your life? Something you planned on using or doing more with? A friend, a family member, a destination? Sometimes we all need to examine our choices and how we spend our time, then make some decisions. Decisions to keep things the same or to make changes.

What do you think? Are there areas in your life where you’ve invested time, money, and effort but haven’t utilized to their fullest? Reflect on these and consider making adjustments to enrich your life.