Renovating Government

Knowing the Difference Between Drywall and a Load Bearing Wall

As a homeowner I have so many ideas for change and improvement. Most often those ideas remain just that: ideas. “Better not pull up that floor, who knows what I’ll find under there”, I caution myself. “Don’t want to have the roof fall in trying to open up this room, better just stay in the dark”. So usually I resort to doing nothing or something superficial like painting.

Then the basement gets flooded and… we have no reason to avoid the changes. Doing nothing, or simply doing the superficial, are no longer reasonable alternatives to making the changes we need and want. In some ways, it’s an opportunity!

There are lessons in this commonly held experience of homeownership. The metaphor can be extended to renting as well – relating to transitory intention or power – “if I was the landlord (i.e. the executive) I would do X to improve Y, but I’m not so I’ll just keep my head down”.

The experience we’re having now has many of us learning the difference between policies, practices, and behaviours that are “load bearing walls” and ones that were only ever “drywall”. The barriers to things like remote working, e-health consulting, virtual court hearings, user-friendly online applications, and easy access to social benefits were rooted in habit and perception of risk, not its reality.

When my basement flooded, it was the most stressful moment of homeownership. I worried about my finances, my family’s experience, and not being able to have guests stay. Half of our house was no longer usable, the kids play room was there, it’s where we have Friday movie nights, and where our friends and family slept when they visited from out of town. I momentarily lost sight of all the changes I wanted to make.

Crisis means to sift. What is left when you go through a crisis is what matters.

– Glennon Doyle in Love Warrior

Then we started picking out new floors, light fixtures, paint colours, and redesigning rooms. We came together. Make no mistake: it sucked. The result however was a decluttered, newly renovated basement; a fresh start and a reset.