Stairs.

I can't even guess at how many times I've moaned and groaned about having to climb up a flight of stairs. But as is true about other things, we really take stairs for granted.

As you know, if you're either (a) a reader of this blog, or (b) anyone who knows me or my husband personally, we're under construction at the lake house. It took only three days for the framers to put a second floor on our home.

Now, keep in mind that I'm not a fan of ranch-style homes. I grew up in a colonial style house, with living quarters on the first floor, and bedrooms/bathrooms on the second. That's my idea of a home. You shouldn't, IMHO, be able to just sort of roll out of bed into the kitchen. You should be able to go to sleep while your housemates (be they family or husband) have company downstairs and not worry about someone hearing you brush your teeth or go potty. It's sort of like separation of "life" and "home," or "day" and "night."

Well, we have a second floor at the lake now. It's not livable, but we can work up there. The only thing is:

I have to climb a ladder to get there.

Now, I know, dear readers, that you're thinking, "So what? It's a ladder. Climb it already and stop whining."

However, (1) I'm not a fan of heights, no matter how low they might be, and when I climb a ladder, I'm almost always climbing to a spot higher than where I start, and eventually I have to climb back down from a spot higher than I'm heading toward, and (2) my legs are too long to climb a ladder.

Yea, sure, go ahead and laugh. But I'm serious. When I try to climb a ladder (and despite my professed fear of heights, I do, to help DH do his work!), my knees hit the rungs or the sides of the ladder and it's very awkward. Can I clamber up said ladder with my legs spread wide and pointed outward? Sure. I look stupid and I'm unsteady, but it can be done.

I don't do it.

I take one rung at a time, one leg at a time (always the right one). And it takes a lot longer than a flight of stairs would.

The point of all of this?

They're delivering our stairs today and they're installing them tomorrow!!!

Life is good.