The bed is queen size
As I’ve written recently, we’re trying to sell our house. We want less to maintain. Getting rid of ‘stuff’ is so delightfully freeing.
About 6 years ago, we added a bedroom in the attic space off the upstairs family room. I’m glad I listened to my boys who urged me to paint it the palest blue I could find. I went with it and used white trim, white bedding and white window covering to give the impression of being in the sky. And that’s how I feel when I’m there. But it’s more than that. There’s a feeling of joyous reverence in that space. I want to kneel right down and talk to God. My children report having important spiritual experiences in that room.
But since there are no building permits issued in our county, the addition didn’t go on our county records. When we prepared to list the home, we needed it professionally measured in order to claim the additional sky room square footage.
I had forgotten the exact time to expect the professional measurer, so when a man with a music stand appeared on my porch was obviously nobody else but Harold Hill.
Well, not quite. But he quickly explained that he DID have a degree in music and sang tenor in the big league  performances in Oklahoma. He sensed my interest and eagerly explained the devices he used. (When it was all done, the margin of error was within 2 square inches!)
I commented that music and math are both functions of the same side of the brain, so his geometry related way of making a living went well with his musical side. He laughed and told me that he also had bachelors degrees in English Communication, Psychology and Electrical Engineering.
“Ah. So you’re really a professional student.”
“Yes, my father asked me if I was ever going to get out of school. I said, ‘nah.'” He’d measured the upstairs on the inside with it’s multitude of angles and corners, but the ground floor was measured outside. Did you know that they don’t count utility rooms (furnaces and hot water heaters’ space) in the square footage because they don’t have heat and air conditioning?
He had a little chatty time when he was finished, and he was so friendly, he was fun to talk to.
He claimed to be curious about everything and explained that he had become a jack of all trades when his mother was very ill when he was young. He’d learned to cook and clean and do laundry and housework as well as to take care of his mother. “I didn’t have a childhood like most kids. I spent most of my time taking care of others. I’ve learned that life isn’t about me. It’s about helping others. That’s where we all find joy. That’s how we all find happiness.” He also dropped that he donated the proceeds from the measuring business to various charities and non-profits. “I do it because I like it. It’s challenging.”
I asked him if he’d mind if I wrote about him. He said he didn’t mind as long as I didn’t give his name. “I like to fly low,” he explained.
For the $225 my realtor will pay for the legal measurment, I learned that any floorspace where the ceiling is not at least 5 feet above it, is not counted by an appraiser, (the sky room ceiling slopes with the eaves in one part.) And by the way, I learned the secret to a happy life. It’s not about me. It’s about helping others.
He’d been in my sky room. It showed.
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