Dear Journal,
I’ve never been to Cape Cod, but I can imagine it’s beautiful, especially this time of year, with its cool breezes and bright sunshine, not to mention the water. I’ve seen it a million times in movies and in television shows, so maybe I feel like I know it, the feel of the place, the smell of the salt air, even the sizzle of the hot dogs cooking on the grill. But I’ve never thought about the houses, not really.
So we’re building a house, and it’s in the Cape Cod style, or at least my wife says it is. I look at the blueprints and I see a house. I don’t see a style, but I trust her when she says it’s Cape Cod. I wonder if it will evoke all of those feelings I listed above when it’s finished, if I’ll feel like I’m actually there by inhabiting the house. Maybe if we take a trip up there while the building project is going on it will seem more real to me, that we’re actually doing this.
I’ve never lived in a newly built house before, but of course before I moved up here I also hadn’t bought a new car, or owned a house, or had children. So this journey continues with more new stuff, stuff that is exciting and scary at the same time. I 
wonder if I’ll drive by the property while they workers are on break, and I’ll see the frame of it rising toward the sky and wish I were there with them sweating it out. Isn’t that how they did it in the old days, the men of the family getting together and putting the house up by themselves? Or maybe I’m just confusing two different things I heard once, so long ago I’m surprised I haven’t forgotten them both by now.
Apparently this Cape Cod style means two bedrooms on the upper floor, and two on the lower, but most important of all I’ll finally be able to have my own private study. No, not a “man cave” or whatever other titles are given to spaces set aside just for a little masculinity to take place. Honestly, I think I’ll just use it as a space to write free from all the outside noises. I’ll set up my speaker system and have a lot of inner noises instead. Oh, and the bookshelves. I’m going to love the bookshelves. It’s been my dream for so long but it’s been unattainable. No longer.
My wife is over the moon. Every night she fiddles with the blueprints, adding here and taking away there, re-sketching and measuring out every square inch of the place. I swear she should be an architect. It’s a bit contagious her fascination and dedication to the house before the building has even begun, but I guess that’s the way it should be. She should have the place she’s always wanted. In the Cape Cod style.
Sam
Sam's Online Journal 