I got a bee in my bonnet on Monday. Brent had gone to Canada, and I decided to paint my living room. Why, I’m not sure. The walls had been a creamy brown for about 15 years and suddenly I wanted them lighter. I had three gallons of good paint I had bought at Hess’ when it was on sale. I ran down to the lumber store and gathered up a variety of off-white swatches, called Roxanne to come make the final decision because my left eye sees whites as stark white, while my right eye sees whites as cream-colored. She pointed me in the right direction. Cami at the store shook up the paint and I was in business. 

It’s amazing how quickly things get going when you take that first step, in this case getting the swatches. A couple of years ago I had talked to Ed Williams, our local painter, about doing the inside of my house, but there were always other priorities, and I never took that first step to actually give him a call. Now, I was on my own and there were a lot more steps involved than just painting. I had to tape, fill holes, move furniture, and wash walls. At midnight on Monday, I was just finishing the first coat and wondering why I hadn’t called Ed two years ago and why I’d brought those swatches home this morning. My body hurt, I was tired, and no one cared. I wasn’t calling Brent because this was going to be a surprise. He had never appreciated the creamy brown walls. 

Tuesday was an easier day. I had a few other things that had to be done besides painting, but coat two was on by 7:00pm. Now, I just had to pull the tape, clean up and put things back together. I had Wednesday and most of Thursday to get it done. Well, Wednesday morning dawned and with it a call from Brent. He had woken up at 3:30am and felt like he needed to come home. He would be in Malad by 5:00pm Wednesday evening. Really? So, I hustled. Tape pulled, floors cleaned, rugs rolled (I’d decided new rugs were needed). Brett and the girls helped with getting light covers back on, the heavy mirror hung and hauling the old rugs out. We were ready.

At around 5:00 Brent came in the door, and I said, “Welcome home. Glad you made it safely.” He replied, “Yeah, I’m glad to be home. I’m beat.” I waited for his reaction to the walls…nothing. Finally, I gave him a little prompt, “Notice anything new?” He looked around and said, “Yeah, where are the rugs?” 

It’s a Good Life when your husband is so happy to be home, he doesn’t even notice his world has changed colors. Be careful when you start those first steps!