I was stationed in DC and working at the Pentagon for 4 years in the early 1990s. We lived in Alexandria, VA and the kids went to school at Polk Elementary. One of Sarah’s earliest and longest friendships from that time was Becky Lloyd. She lived nearby, and both attended Chris Collins Dance Studio. MFI has stayed in touch with Becky via social media, and as a result was completley aware of the pandemic related impacts on her recent life.

In summary, Becky had been working for a company in China. There she met and married a South African named Matthew Filippa who was also working in China. She gave birth to a beautiful boy they named Lincoln. While visiting his family in South Africa, she was required to return to China by her company. Unfortunately, Matt and Lincoln were unable to join her for the next year and a half due to complicated COVID-related circumstances. She watched her son grow up on facetime and instagram. We watched the tear-jerking video of their reunion only weeks before getting in contact with them for a visit.

They kindly invited us to their Alexandria home, a property owned by her parents and then inherited by Becky upon their passing some years prior. They had only been in it for a week when Mix Fix It and The Pool Man arrived. By their own admission, the house was a total mess, and their family household goods had yet to even depart China. Becky was working; and Matthew, a licensed electrician in South Africa, was unemployable until his immigration status was properly settled. He estimated that might take as long as a year or more. Yet despite the potential for daily frustration over their situation, he impressively took it in stride and focused instead on Becky, Lincoln, and their newly acquired home. He had a full-time job of being a husband, father, home maintenance man, and our project manager.

After convincing them of our abilities and sincere desire to help, we developed a project list for both the outside and inside of the property. Matt and I partnered on the outside while MFI began inside. In general, the entire property was overgrown. Of particular concern was a gigantic bush, Crepe Myrtle, and tall tree encroaching on the left side of the driveway and roof. Several vines had covered the entire west face of the house, tendrils creeping between the aluminum siding panels and getting entwined within window casements. The flower bed below the front picture window was full of weeds, and another 10′ tall bush had taken over the right front corner of the house. We trimmed the driveway bush, Crepe Myrtle, and tree; but removed the vines, bed weeds, and front bush. The entire front yard was stacked so high with trimmed and removed vegetation that Becky arranged twice for a 10-yard dumpster to get it hauled away. I climbed atop the roof to toss down the tree trimmings and noticed the front and rear rain gutters were full of debris and sagging. It was the perfect time to repair and clean them.

The major interior project was in the main bathroom. They wanted a new vanity and cabinets. After removing the old rotting vanity, we discovered the corroded hot and cold water lines and valves needed to be replaced. Not easy. We had to break through the tile, old plaster and lath wall and install new piping to make it all work. Fortunately, the nine summers at the North Carolina ranch had given us considerable experience for this job. Matt researched new vanities and cabinets on line and located exactly what they wanted at a reasonable price. Then he had his first solo state-side driving experience in order to go get them. He returned unphased! The old wall cabinets were both surface mounted and this made the room feel smaller. So we installed a recessed medicine cabinet and better wall cabinet above the toilet. There was already a hole in the wall behind the old medicine cabinet. All we had to do was rebuild the opening to accept the new cabinet. Good thing we had plenty of experience with taping and floating repaired drywall.

Matt made some improvements in the kitchen during our visit, and MFI mentioned on more than one occasion how she thought the sink faucet was worthless. We gifted them a new one, and of course MFI installed it. Always so interesting how these little things make such incredibly positive changes in our lives.

Lucky for us, Matt and Becky took us seriously when we said “we work for food.” Whether we ordered out or our hosts cooked meals, we dined like we were royalty and drank terrific South African wines selected by Matt. They even celebrated our birthdays with cupcakes and presents. It was our good fortune that Matt proved to be one helluva chef.

We began the projects during our two week stay at Lake Fairfax RV Park; however we weren’t quite done before having to leave the park. Fourteen-day stays max, and no exceptions. Matt and Becky were kind enough to let us boondock in their driveway for our final two days. Our yard work had made the driveway much more accessible. MFI made backing in look easy.

Having never met Matt before, he and I shared a lot of conversations while working together. He was so easy to talk with, and we really got to know one another in a very short time. I admired his life philosophy, maturity, level-headed attitude, and even-keeled emotions. Of course we knew Becky from years before, but there was a great deal of catching up to do with her adult self too once she returned from work and joined us for the evening. The time spent with the Filippa family was exactly what we hoped for when we began this journey: stop and reconnect with friends and family, help them with their projects, and hone our construction skills while maybe learning some new ones. Thank you Matt, Becky, and Lincoln for being such wonderful hosts. Group hug!