I'm of the mindset that I work too hard to allow my home to come crumbling down around me. So when I see things in disrepair or things that could use a freshening up, I want to take care of it. I wonder if I would think differently if I were not contributing to the household expense , but the reality of it is that I don't. I believe that if you take care of things when you notice them-- and as soon as you are financially able-- you're actually saving time, money, and preventing stress in the long run. My husband has a different mindset.  He'd rather wait until it's absoutely necessary.  Nothing necessarily wrong with this mindset; it's just not the one to which I subscribe. So when the garage door began making weird noises-- and then I accidentally dented it while trying to back out of the garage ont he way to work, I thought, "Doggone it!  Wish I hadn't done that!  I've now made it worse. But it needs to be repaired."  Not until it literally fell off the hinges and onto the garage floor did my husband agree to have it repaired, but by then it was too late: it had to be replaced. I've subscribed to the same thought processes with the walls that need touch-ups in the house, the framing around the door that needs weatherization, the storm door that wasn't quite installed correctly, the room that feels like a sauna year-round, and the deck rails that are leaning now that  nails have come loose. But my perspective changed when I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Sunday January 3. Tia (the spanish word for aunt) Sandy, a single mother of two, was living in a 100-year-old home that was literally falling apart.  A home daycare provider loved by all, Tia Sandy didn't have the finances to repair the home as required by code so she and her two children were facing upheaval. Her community appealed to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, allowing the viewing public to take a gander at the structure in disrepair. Sandy and her children seemed resigned to live in the dilapidated home because it was their home.  And the daycare, well, it served a multitude of needs from providing a safe haven for little ones to a quality, bilingual and diverse preschool education. In the end, not only was it eye-opening to see the talented crew dig into the challenge of saving this house, but it was humbling to watch as this loving family's jaws dropped when their newly renovated home was revealed. I went to sleep that night thankful that the repairs we need pale in comparison to the dilemma that Tia Sandy and her family had faced. Not only was I thankful but secretly ashamed that I had dared pout about cosmetic changes. While I could somewhat relate to Tia Sandy as a hard-working mother who digs her heels in and makes things work regardless of the quality, I tip my crown to her.