Dear Diane,

I know people who invested a lot of time and effort in renovating old sailboats, or old cars… I know someone who had a very strong attachment to his old car, and couldn’t make himself to sell it for a long time (even though it was already a liability and hardly ever used) – because of an emotional attachment. They expected much more joy and satisfaction from the car, but it was a disappointment because it wasn’t working properly and would require constant repairs.

You say you invested a lot of time and blood, sweat and tears into renovating this old home. Did you get to enjoy it too? Did you enjoy the result of your hard work or there was always something to fix and worry about, which kind of clouded the joy? What’s the overall experience of those 18 years?