The bank loves me too much

It started with a small amount of mold on a window sill in The Boy’s room.

The Boy has mild asthma so even a small amount of mold on his window sill is a bad thing. There was to be no discussion on the matter – the window, sill and all, needed to go.

Looking around the house, we saw that the other window sills around the house were starting to show their age. A couple of them also had small amounts of mold. More windows would need replacing. Discussion soon turned to replacing all the windows. And adding an extension to the front entry. I’m not sure how the front entrance made its way into the discussion, but we’d been unhappy with the front entrance for a while, specifically the size of the front entrance and the lack thereof. We live in one of those bungalows that has stairs going up and down from the main entrance – a Toronto split level is a name we’ve heard. There’s also a closet that is behind the front door when it is open. When more that one person comes into the house this results in a series of manoeuvres and contortions to come into the house, hang up jackets, set aside boots and make your way up the stairs. We’ve haven’t invited as many people over as we might have wanted to just to avoid the hassle. So somehow the front entrance made its way into the discussion as well.

This was going to be a major undertaking, by which I mean that it would be expensive. We decided that since we were going to replace the windows, we might as well bite the bullet and get triple-glazed energy efficient windows with argon gas injected between the panes. I’m sure that the windows on the space shuttle aren’t as technically advanced as these. So a visit to the bank would be necessary.  I need to mention that my wife and I are both professionals – I teach and she is an occupational therapist – so we live comfortably. We have wonderful neighbours. We are quite well off compared to many people who live in the city where I live, and I try to be grateful for our comfort and good fortune for the life we have. As a result of our financial security, the bank was happy to see us. Very, very happy. So happy they were willing to let us borrow more than enough to cover the cost of the renovation. Maybe even a nice vacation if we wanted it. The bank was happy to front the money because they wanted to be our friends for a long time. It’s great to have a friend who will lend you money. The difference between a bank and a real live friend is that the real live friend will stop lending to you if you borrow too much. The bank just smiles and says “No problem. Just sign right here, here and here.” The bank is a generous friend, and we are in their debt. Literally. We will be for quite some time.

So the renovations have started. The wife’s father is a skilled carpenter so we are lucky (and thankful) that we only need to cover the cost of the materials for the front entry renovations. (I’m chuckling as I write that “… only need to cover the cost …” – it sounds like such a small deal).  The day after we mentioned to them that we might be interested in extending the front entrance they showed up and made plans to remove the front step. (It wasn’t really the next day, but I’ve never let the absolute truth get in the way of a good story). The windows are large, heavy and as technologically advanced as the space station so we’re paying to have the window people install them. Besides, if they break during installation I want someone else to pick up the cost for replacement.

Last night, I was looking at the front yard which was torn up when the holes were drilled to put in concrete pedastals for the new front entry. I thought that since we would need to replace the grass on the front, maybe we should think about changing the front a bit – perhaps a small patio to sit outside on cool summer evenings so we could talk to the neighbours as they walked by. The wife and I talked about and started thinking of some different ideas. We’ll probably do some not minor landscaping in the front. After all, the only thing it’s going to take is more money, I’m sure my friend the bank will smile as I sign “here, here and here”.