Home: Where Character is Built

Home is where the heart is Kentucky Lumber

When I look back on my childhood, I see a simpler time. It was a time where breaking beans on the swing meant I was hanging out with Grandma. Shucking corn and cleaning silks meant dinner was going to be buttery, salty, sloppy, and soooo good! It was a time when walking up and down the streets of town with my push-mower meant that with a little bit of sweat, the green-stained sacrifice of my shoes, and ample guts to knock on enough of my neighbor’s doors while enduring plenty of no’s, I just might get the chance at a “yes” where I had the chance to earn $20 each week (if I could make that lawn look better than the boy who did it last summer). Turning a wrench in the driveway likely meant I was going to receive a healthy lecture from Dad, but it also meant that replacing the thermostat on the old green Ford Econoline van might get the old girl back on the road. It was a time when my uncles would give this 6 year old boy a hammer and nails as I learned to nail two boards together, smashing my thumb, but learning to use the tool a little better the next time, with a little better aim and my thumb out of the way.

Hard work was a way of life. Tears, sweat, grass stains, smashed thumbs, and lectures…they were part of growing. They were part of living. This was how we spent our days. It’s how we lived. It’s how we overcame. We did what we did to be together.

See, going home was what you did for dinner. The garden was where you grew it. The table was where you ate it. You hustled for that meal. I’d say that’s why it tasted better.

We’ve found a theme among the people who come around here at Kentucky Lumber. They live with that sort of hustle. They are people who go to work all day, but who come home at night to build the fort with their kids. They build an extra-large living room, because family game night requires a little extra space for shenanigans. Mom’s big kitchen isn’t just pretty; it’s a functional space where her roast gets smothered in that unmistakable gravy. And the big back porch may have taken a lot of time to finish, but that open area means grandkids have a place to run, mom has space to entertain her friends from church, and dad has a spot for his rocking chair where he’ll read with a cup of coffee in hand. The grit of their work means they have the freedom to enjoy living.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. That’s why you’re tackling that huge project. The renovation is less about how perfect it turns out and more about how great it will feel being together with the people you love when it’s done. Those bead board ceilings are full of character, and that’s cool and all, but they are just an accent to the character being developed in your home. Those shiplap walls aren’t so much a trend you saw on Fixer Upper, but they’re a reminder of an old way of living your grandma knew. It’s the way you intend to duplicate in your family. Those white oak floors aren’t just beautiful. Those boards remind you of the old oak tree your dad used to build that bench for your mom.

See, simpler isn’t necessarily easier. Easier is not what you live for. You don’t mind hard work. You were raised with the grit to do that. The character you live with each day is the thing that makes your sleep so sweet.