September 1, 2006: Painting Marathon

My friend Blogless Leigh actually tried to convince me recently that painting is fun. The conversation took place when I informed her that I was going to be painting Laurel’s room for her birthday. “Why are you dreading it?” she asked me. “I like to paint.” So, thanks to Leigh, I really had a good attitude when I started painting Laurel’s room on Tuesday. I even had a fairly good attitude when, after spending 6 hours in the van (taking Laurel to Kentucky to meet her Grandma and then driving back), I painted for another few hours Wednesday evening. But by 4 p.m. Thursday, when I put the very last coat on, my good attitude went out to the dumpster with the 8—yes, EIGHT—full bags of trash from Laurel’s room. EIGHT bags of trash in one little girl’s room. How is that possible? And so I think the reason I dislike painting so much, aside from my aching body, is that I dread the thorough cleaning that comes along with it. And the putting back of all that STUFF (minus the 8 bags of even stuffier stuff). I should say, too, that Leigh and BrownSugar did enthusiastically volunteer to come help me paint. I finished earlier than I thought, but I know they would have made the job much less painful!

I still have several piles to find a place for, but the room does look fabulous. We are driving up to Indiana today for the weekend.. Laurel is there now with her Grandma, with whom she has spent the past 2 days. This is her first solo trip to Grandma’s, and we miss her dreadfully! She is having a great time, though, and Randy’s mom is enjoying having her only granddaughter all to herself. AND, of course, I got to spend three days painting so that her room would look fabulous when she returns! Randy’s grandpa, and his brother and his wife will be coming for the weekend, as well as his Uncle Rich from Hawaii. We always have a fantastic time with them. Randy’s brother is an unbelievable cook. I am excited just thinking about the food we’ll have this weekend. But mostly I’m excited to see my little Princess. I miss her sweet smile and her giggles.