I've spent much of the last 2 weekends on my knees - but not in church. The upstairs study is getting a much needed make-over, starting with demolishing part of closet (which act committed me to repainting the entire room). Last year at this time I was packing to go on an 8-day silent retreat. This year WMGK is counting down the top 500 hits on the radio, most of the neighborhood kids have come to "help," and in the midst of it all I still have to think about what's for dinner! But I decided I'm still getting my retreat.
When you don't have 5 kids in the 12' x 12' room with you, prepping a wall to be painted can be reflective. The moment of transformation does not come quickly. Careful attention has to be paid to the walls. Where should I patch? What needs sanding? The dust, dirt and grime need to be cleaned from the surface one last time. To see all this, things have to be moved out of the way, and while the prep work could be done solo, now it's time to have some help to discover what might be in the way of the new creation. In the end, I mask the windows and trim, working my way inward from the edges.
My kids (and my better half) remind me of "The Little Red Hen": "Who will help me scrub the walls?" "Not I!" The fun is in the actual painting, and when the time comes to roll the actual paint onto the walls, I have lots of volunteers! Not until I pull the final bit of masking off, can I be sure that the new space will work.
One retreat in a can, stir well before applying.
The room looks great - except my color blind 8 year old asked me why I'd chosen black (it's dark blue).
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