When Mike and I returned to Wichita Falls after 18 years of living in other parts of Texas, we bought a house that needed serious help — and only those who saw it beforehand know that ‘serious help’ is putting it mildly. Mike was up for the challenge though, and started putting the pieces back together. As we struggled with fixing floors, walls, and ceilings, we knew that taking it one wall at a time was the only way we’d be able to restore the house. But Mike died just three years after we bought it, and it was still a long way off from being in good shape. He did what he could, and he laid the groundwork that enabled us to actually live in the house. It’s taken a lot of different people, a lot of time, and a lot of money, but except for odds and ends, it’s done. And it’s beautiful. “I can’t believe you paid good money for somebody else to do what I could have done.” That’s what I hear Mike saying. But all the while he’s complaining, he would love what this old house has become.
