The endless drag of the last details

For the last two months I've been "almost" done with the construction in K's house. Just the laaaast details. Just a bit of paint. Juuuust finishing with the garden. Just cleaning. Just some more cleaning. Clearing left over materials from the garage. Trying to find our pergola guy. Trying to find a new one that charges around the same as the now-dissappeared pergola guy. Failing. Then the victorious return of the pergola guy. Gahhh.

It seems like maybe, hopefully, with the blessing of the gods, we'll be done by the end of next week. We just need to install the fountain's fixtures and pergola. Retouch the paint. Clean the stained tile that is refusing to shed it's layer of cement and debris. And retouch the paint inside. Almost done. Almost almost done.

Perhaps what has me so on edge -besides, you know, sleep deprivation and baby blues/post partum depression- is that clients tend to get very critical by the end of renovations. Everyyyy little detail gets them frowning and worrying and complaining, every bit of dust is such a disaaaasterrr in the renovation but pee in every room of the existing house is fine.

Maybe it can seem like lazy work, to expect some understanding of how there's always going to be *something*, that perfect is really not humanly possible. They forget the run down, unusable, cracked, old patio/house/room/bathroom, so now all they can see is the chipped corner or the dusty tile or the slight color difference between the new paint and the old paint. And it drives me crazy, because the renovation looks gorgeous! And everyone else can see it, but the clients aren't quite happy, and it makes me sad, and anxious, and a tad neurotic.

At some point of the relationship of client-architect, there comes a shift: It can no longer be measured as a comercial transaction. Everyone is tangled in the psychological aspect of renovating a *home*, the physical representation of hopes and dreams of a family. I become fretful, neurotic, eager to please, eager to escape. I can't seem to detach myself from that aspect of construction, and what's worse, I know that's what makes me good at my job, because clients often need a lot of handholding. I wish they could see their renovation with fresh eyes and enjoy the new space, allow themselves the excitement after the long exhausting process.

But most of all, I just really, really wish we could be done already.