When Mac first started building our home at Belmont I visited the site pretty well every day but that didn’t last long, I found myself getting discouraged when I saw how little progress had been made from the previous day. Mac explained that the process would take time, he had to be sure that the foundations were strong and the proper infrastructure in place, and suggested I make visits weekly as opposed to daily. In other words, get out of his face and stop the moaning!
Although Mac seemed to know what he was doing, the construction did not always flow smoothly. The house was a massive undertaking, and the layout involving four separate buildings was definitely a challenge. Whenever the casting of cement was on the agenda it never failed to rain, and it was a relief when the foundations for all four buildings were in place. As the walls went up the rooms seemed strangely small to me, and our architect Mario laughed when I expressed my concern. He assured me that once the roofs were erected I would see how big the rooms truly were, he had NOT designed a small house.
Mac’s plan was to get the four sections of the house constructed, then finish the children’s quarters and the kitchen and dining areas first. This would allow us to move in; as long as we had a place to sleep and were able to cook our meals, we could finish the house at a slower pace. I was uneasy about this arrangement, I didn’t relish the thought of living in the middle of a construction site, but I was just as eager as Mac to make a move from Family Hill.
Mario Spinella was right, once the roofs went up the rooms seemed twice the size, and the house started to feel like a REAL house. The upper section (the children’s quarters) was accessed by a set of stone steps, and the two bedrooms, separated by a large dressing room and bathroom, were cool and spacious. Up until then Vanessa and Rachel had been sharing a bed on Family Hill, now they would have their own rooms, at least they would once Mac and I were able to move into the master bedroom suite.
One day I arrived after work to find Mac and the workmen busy laying tiles in the upstairs building. The large tiles were lovely, a very light shade of gray with faint steaks of pink throughout, and they would be laid in all four buildings. The red clay tiles on the porch, laid several days previously, were perfect for the outdoor sections. Pleased with the tiles, I wandered downstairs to inspect the rest of the house, everything was finally coming together nicely. Once the kitchen tiles were laid Mac said we would be able to move in, and the thought of finally occupying the house gave him added incentive to get it done.
I walked into the master bedroom suite and smiled inwardly as I recalled thinking it had looked small while under construction. With the roof up it felt enormous, and once tiled it would be beautiful. Two sets of doors would open onto the balcony, and I stood for a while admiring the view of Admiralty Bay. The bathroom was large too, and after years of pokey shower stalls the spaciousness was welcome. I was also looking forward to having a proper dressing room, chests of drawers and cupboards (not advisable in the tropics!) would be a thing of the past once I was able to hang our clothes.
As I walked into the dressing room, I was hit by such an unexpected feeling of sorrow that I stopped in my tracks. Waves of grief washed over me, and I sank to the floor in a corner and began to cry. Moments before I had been happy and content, what had changed? Mac found me some time later sobbing my heart out, and tried to find out what was wrong. I was so distraught I couldn’t answer, and Mac became more and more concerned. “What’s wrong?” he kept asking, “What happened?”
Finally, red-eyed and sniffling, I said, “I’m going to be 33 in three weeks!” Up until then I had not given my birthday any thought, nor the fact that I would be turning 33. Mac’s concern turned to exasperation, I had given him a fright over a stupid birthday? By the time the big day arrived I was fine, I had shed all the tears I needed to shed in my brand-new dressing room……..