If you wait for something exciting to say...you may never say anything, huh. So here I am, with nothing exciting to say. I had an OK weekend. About a month ago we installed 5 new doors upstairs. They've been waiting for a coat of paint. Ted tackled one door last week and it took foooorrreeevvveerrrr. No disrespect to Ted...he's thorough. But I wanted them D*O*N*E. So Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday I worked on the doors. Doors are the most boring and tedious things to paint! You got both sides with all the grooves and crevices of the six panels and then you got the trim around the opening. Ugh. Five of them. Ok...I guess I did four because Ted did the one. But still. I'm looking at all the other stuff that is waiting to be done and I'm wondering how long it will take! Ted wants to do the baseboards himself, so that means buying, painting, cutting and installing them in 3 bedrooms and a closet. If it's something I can do, I prefer to do it because it gives me a break from the kids, and on the weekend...I really like having a break. Doing baseboards is more in Ted's skill level and so that means I will be watching the kids while he takes on this big task. Last night I asked him how long he thinks it will take. He told me a good weekend. This stuff just doesn't come without sacrifice...and I do like the idea of not paying someone, so that's we'll just do it ourselves. We had someone else hang the doors and it cost us a fortune! About $75 for each door and $85 per door to hang them! $160 x 5 = $800 and they still needed to be painted!! We just knew from experience that hanging doors really is an art and Ted has tried it and it was much harder than it looked. It was nice to have someone else deal with it, but it only took them 3 1/2 hours. That $60 per hour, per person. Ok...I'll let it go.
Last night, Ted and I were doing our little nightly "check-in"..."How was your day/weekend...the good, the bad, the ugly, etc...". He said he had a really relaxing weekend. Sounded nice. Especially since he'll top it off today by leaving work early to go to the Cardinal's season opener at our BRAND NEW Busch Stadium...making me late or not able to go to my Women's group tonight. Do I sound bitter? I'm trying not to be. I'm happy for him but after a draining weekend, I'm stewing a little. It's great that his felt relaxing, but mine felt like a lot of work. Let's retrace, I painted Friday night. Saturday morning I painted until about 11:30, Ted took Sam and Abby to lunch and the Ice Age movie and then he came home in time to go to my sisters for mass, dinner, and some wood splitting on his part. I watched the little ones while he took this task on. Two cousins spent the night. Sunday I painted again 'til I took the cousins home in the afternoon. Ted's parents came over for dinner (which they brought) and then I went to my CRHP meeting.
I was just crabby last night so a lot of it came out negative. I saw everything that needs to be done, ignoring what we've accomplished, and ignoring the good things that happened this weekend. For one, five doors are fully painted! Two, Sam and Abby got to spend some really good quality time with their Dad going to lunch and a movie...which was my idea to begin with! Three, my family was fed two times and someone else's expense and labor (my contribution was small). Four, Ted got to watch the Masters and spend time with the kids. Sam and Abby got to have their cousins spend the night, which doesn't happen often during the school year. I got to attend a great meeting with women from my church. Five, Ted listened to all my complaining when all he was doing was what I asked him...I have a great husband!
This morning, I called him at work and thanked him for listening to me (without being defensive) while I was crabby and also thanked him for helping me this weekend. Of course when you have house projects, there is going to be some sacrifice for the benefit of the project. They just come hand in hand. When the kids are older, it might not be as big of a deal. In the meantime, on big projects like painting, yard work and wood splitting, someone has to watch the kids while the other one works. We are awesome tag teamers.
1 comment:
I do the same thing with my husband, look too much at what's NOT being done instead of focusing on what is. Changing that perspective sure makes a difference.
Thanks for all your encouraging comments on my blog today. We were on at the same time so it felt a little bit like we were having a conversation.
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