Good morning everyone. Gosh, it’s two days till Christmas already? How the year goes by.

I have to say; this year has been one of my biggest one’s yet. I’ve graduated high school, my calendar is filling up, my blog is going great… oh and our house has been undergoing renovations for the past couple months.

The back of our house is being done up; the laundry is being re-positioned and updated, and another bedroom has been expanded. That bedroom is now mine.

Despite it not being 100% complete, its done enough that I have been able to move in, which is why I am now writing this from the comfort and inspiration of a brand-new bedroom!

I actually expected my new room to be a total downsize compared to my old one at the front of the house. But I am delighted to report I have so much more space than I anticipated even with most of my furniture in here. I have a built-in closet with wall-length mirrors which is a dream come true. Even though its smaller than my last closet, I wasn’t forced to get rid of any beloved items of clothing that I didn’t want to let go of.

Literally two days ago I finally got my built-in desk area and bookshelf (something I didn’t have in my last room), put in. It’s a corner desk and one that I can slide my wheelchair under perfectly. This’ll be where all the magic happens from now on.

But probably the best and most exciting thing about my new room is I now have a sliding door that will eventually have a deck built just for me. Off the deck will be a ramp that will lead directly out to the backyard.

Not only will I feel like a princess in a castle with my own deck, but what’s more significant is that currently we only have steps (where the new laundry is being built) that lead out to the backyard. For years, if I wanted to go out to the back, I would have to drive out to the front of the house and through the side gate. If the car was in the way, I wouldn’t be able to get through and sometimes I can’t be bothered asking for it to be moved. Same goes if the side gate is locked. As a result of this long and sometimes impeded journey, I rarely go out to the backyard. I often forget what it looks like and how much space we actually have out there.

Excuse the mess but thats where the deck will eventually be.

Yes, I know, I know; first world problems. But in saying that, I am so excited that I will finally have an easy way to go out the back whenever I want. I can sit outside on my deck and read or even write. I’ll be able to leave my door open to let the warm summer breeze into my room. It looks like for now, with Christmas fast approaching, the deck won’t be built until next year. I just hope it’s finished before summer ends.

Speaking of the doors, another exciting thing is that my door is electronic. The electrician has hooked up the wires so that all I have to do is press a button to open and close them. Pretty cool huh? My whole room has been purpose built to suit me and my wheelchair.

Finally, the last addition to my room will eventually be a big window on the wall opposite my desk and cupboard. The advantage will be even more light into my room and hopefully like the rest of the windows on that side of the house, there will be some trees in front of it separating me from the neighbours as well as prettying up my view. Again, this will have to wait till the new year.

So why the need for all these renovations, you ask? Well apart from the fact that this whole area of the house used to be old and crowded and in need of a real makeover, we’re also making room for a new addition to the household. We will be playing host to an exchange student from Papua New Guinea – a friend of my brother’s. We’re making more room so that he can share a bigger room with my brother.

If you can imagine, basically, I’m moving into this room, my parents are moving into my old room and the boys are going to live in my parent’s old room which is the one that is big enough to fit two beds and two desks.

All of these changes have been such an inspiration both for my writing as well as my overall outlook on life. I can now see all the great things that are headed towards me as well as imagine a life full of many other possibilities. That might sound silly after just rambling on about renovations, but I believe a change in your environment really does give your inspiration levels a huge boost. I feel a sense of clarity on what I hope to achieve now that things are settling into place and I am super excited.