Holding the House While We Rebuild

Originally written: 06 July 2022

Holding the House

There’s a specific photo we keep from this year that perfectly captures our life right now. The house is completely mid-renovation—furniture has been pushed aside, walls are exposed and open, and tools are scattered absolutely everywhere. There isn't a single human in the frame, and yet the couch is completely full. Dogs and cats are layered tightly together on the cushions, sleeping deeply right where a bit of familiar structure still exists. They aren’t anxiously waiting for something to happen, they aren’t hyper-vigilantly watching the room, and they aren’t holding onto any physical tension. They are just resting.

That single image feels like the ultimate definition of recovery to me. It isn't because the house is finished—it certainly isn't—but because the system we've built is successfully holding even while it's visibly incomplete. It holds even when the humans step away, and even when the physical environment is entirely unsettled. Our animals don’t actually need their space to be perfect. They just need it to be predictable.

— Elysia