Hot Date on a Friday Night

We built this house six years ago, which is still a recent memory in our minds. It was a very long and traumatic year for us, as anyone who builds a house can testify to. Because we are all about saving a dollar, we did all the work ourselves. Sam helped a framing crew, then we dismissed them as he finished things himself, with help from family. There were a few other jobs we hired out like drywalling and trimwork, but mostly Sam worked on the house and I worked behind the scenes coordinating lumber deliveries, hiring the extra help, payroll for said help, ordering, and working with the bank.

Despite the fact that I spent thousands of dollars per day (literally) at Lowe's or Home Depot (or both), we generally ended up at Lowe's on Friday night looking for that fitting, or this bolt, or buying more outlet boxes. (Which we don't have enough of, for future reference. One can never have enough outlets in a home. Period.) It got to the point that we were at Lowe's more than we were at Walmart, and that's a lot. (It's the only store in town.)

The kids quickly learned to hate Lowe's.  That's how it came about that we let the kids with my parents when we headed to the Best Store Ever for a few hours of looking for nails and wiring. This became a weekly ritual, leaving the kids with grandparents and heading to Lowe's.

Now that we've finished the house and moved in, we're realized what homeowners the world over already know. The housework is never done. And I'm not talking about dusting and mopping. This faucet needs fixed. That joint needs re-done. The trim needs replaced that the dog ate. We still get a little too excited when we leave the kids at home (a teenage daughter that babysits, FTW!) and head to Lowe's.

Hi, we're an old married couple and we take hot dates to a home improvement store. Try not to be jealous.