Alright, friends, buckle up because I’ve got a story for you—full of big life changes, home makeovers, and a dining hall that I have personally rebranded for maximum luxury.
So, as many of you know, Lance recently accepted a teaching position at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson.
This was no small decision.
Lance had been at The University of Akron for over twenty years.
That’s right—he went there for undergrad, stuck around for his master’s, and eventually finished off with a PhD.
If you cut him open (please don’t), he probably bleeds blue and gold. Leaving wasn’t easy, but the opportunity at WRA was too good to pass up.
Now, here’s where things get interesting.
Most faculty at WRA live on campus.
That means free housing, which, let’s be real, is basically the grown-up equivalent of winning a golden ticket.
But wait, there’s more!
We also get to eat at the school’s dining hall, which I have since christened “The Club House” because it sounds much fancier than “cafeteria.”
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are covered, which is basically my dream come true because it means less cooking and, more importantly, less cleaning.
But there was one tiny issue.
Lance loves his house.
And not in a “Wow, I really like this place” kind of way, but in a “I have lived here for 20+ years, built a life here, and I refuse to let it go” kind of way.
And I totally get it.
He and his late husband, Mike, made this house their home. Mike passed away suddenly from a heart attack a few years before we met, and this house is full of memories, love, and laughter.
Selling it wasn’t an option.
So what do you do when you have a house you don’t want to sell but also don’t want to sit empty?
You turn it into a short-term rental, of course!
We decided to open it up to traveling medical professionals who need a place to stay for a couple of months at a time, and we also threw it on Airbnb for good measure.
But before we could roll out the welcome mat, we had to make some upgrades.
