We have been squeezing in some small home improvement projects here and there. Last weekend we painted our office and a couple of closets. We figured now was the time to paint since we are getting new carpet in a couple of rooms soon. It’s desperately needed after our cats have clawed, puked, fur-balled and every other disgusting thing you can imagine on these stretches of carpet.
It’s time, overdue actually.

Leading up to the weekend, we emptied closets, taped baseboards, removed electrical outlet plates and such. On Saturday, we were finally ready for the main event: the painting. Getting ready to paint is about 10x more work than the actual painting itself. I was already tired.

Anyway, as the husband and I took to rolling, brushing and the like he says “Isn’t this relaxing?”

Hmmm? How to respond? Do I tell the truth or do I soften it a bit?

What I was thinking before he mused how relaxing he found this tedious chore was “God, why didn’t we hire someone to do this? I hate painting. I don’t like the smell. I am sure before this is all done I will be cleaning paint-soaked cat paws.”

I cleaned it up a bit for him and said, “Umm, I don’t really find this relaxing.”

Then he waxed poetic about a summer he spent painting fences. He weaves this romantic tale about it and all I could think was, “so you were paint-covered and sunburned while mosquitoes undoubtedly ate up your legs but the act of painting is relaxing? Idiot!”

It’s a good thing I keep these things on the inside. Well at least until I let them out to run wild on our blog.

Fun and enjoyment, opinions, even some elements of right and wrong are in the viewpoint of the beholder.

I decided I should be thankful my husband likes to paint because by the time it came to working on those two closets, I was out. I called it a day and instead ordered pizza. And being the easy-going, carefree man that my husband is, he didn’t even seem to care.

It’s a win for me that we don’t always enjoy the same things and aren’t bothered by the same things. It’s often what I credit for this Taurean relationship working out. With two people who can really dig in their heels, it’s darn good we are motivated by different issues. Like I don’t care about painting but he does. He couldn’t care less about laundry until he’s standing pants-free on a Monday morning and even then he’s considering just wearing shorts.

Yin and Yang.

So far it seems to be working. Now isn’t that relaxing?

Sunshine & Sarcasm,

Lowi & G