What a Mix of Emotions......

This week I actually heard my wife say, “I have a new best friend.” We’ve only been married a little over 10 months, and I’ve already been replaced!!! It’s sad, really, it is. But, I guess that’s what happens when you shoot somebody with a nail gun.

Here’s the story: Sherry and I have decided that we’re both quite capable of doing a less than adequate job of finishing drywall. Neither of us can say that we enjoy making a mess of it and really only look forward to covering all the imperfections with paint. And last weekend were there…two coats of the joint compound and a bit of sanding and we were ready to cover it all up. In comes Tom…some of you have heard of Tom. Tom is our neighbor across the street, and we simply thought his job was to oversee the compound, fry up turtle on occasion, and take fishing trips. Come to find out, Tom is a professional drywaller. Well, the short version is that he has shown us mercy and is finishing the drywall for us in the bedroom area. To us, he is amazing. To him, it’s just what he does. So, really, I think Sherry is just thankful that she doesn’t have to deal with the drywall anymore. I don’t think Sherry truly has replaced me with a new best friend, but it’s ok…we’ll get it all worked out with a few months of counseling.

So from one of saddest things I’ve heard from my wife to one of the most joyous things I’ve heard from her: Last night we were at my workplace pouring the concrete top that will be our vanity top. We also decided to refinish a couple of the desks and a dresser that will be the actual vanity. So, Sherry is taking the handles off of the drawers so that we can repaint them when I heard the sweetest sound from across the warehouse. There are a number of things that I’ve come to love to hear from my wife…”I love you,” “you’re the best,” “let’s go out to eat tonight” among MANY others…but this was different. Those of you who know my wife well will appreciate this. From across the warehouse I hear Sherry say, “Baby, I really like this drill.” What? Are you kidding? Did I just hear my wife say, “I really like this drill?” Now mind you, this is a very nice DeWalt cordless drill, but…come on. So, I’ve realized two things:
1) Christmas and anniversary shopping just got a whole easier and
2) We’ve been working too hard or too long on this project.

Actually, I told Sherry the other day that I’m going to start making a “Top 10” list of ways to know when you’ve been working too hard on a home renovation.
10) When driving down the road, you instinctively pull into the hardware store only to realize in the parking lot that you didn’t actually need anything this time.
1) You hear your wife say “Baby, I really like this drill.”

I’ll fill in numbers 9-2 as we keep going. BTW, did anybody else know that latex paint and paint thinner make cottage cheese? Black latex paint and paint thinner makes something similar to what’s in the Tupperware container that’s been in the back of the fridge so long that nobody remembers what’s in it or has the guts to open it and find out. FYI, I’ll be repainting tonight.