By Susan Shanklin

We have lived in this old 1880s brick farmhouse now for 15 years. Pretty remarkable seeing we usually do not stay in one place very long. It’s usually fix up, sell, and move on, but here we have stayed—even though it seems overwhelming at times with repairs, grounds, and maintenance.

Tom does the repairs and maintenance, and I do the grounds, which are flowers, gardens, and some mowing. I paint and putty. I sand and replace. I’m more the creative homeowner, and Tom is the brawns of the outfit. 

Anyway, our bedroom has not been painted since we moved in, and I was just “so over” the avocado green color Tom had chosen so many years ago. I despised it. I loathed it. I wanted to paint it, and Tom said we have other projects that need to be done. Well, I just couldn’t take it anymore, and Home Depot was having a sale on Behr paint! 

Off I go by myself and color shop. I come home with a darkest purplest color sample and paint it on some of the wall. Oh my, Tom was in shock, but if I liked it, it was okay with him.

Ok with me? People, it was so ugly, I decided to pass on that color, and more time passes and I color shop some more, but I can’t wait any longer! I buy … 2 gallons of POLAR BEAR WHITE!

The Behr representative says it’s their most popular color. I say this with a smile.

Tom’s reaction is, “It’s better than purple.” Hahaha!

I splash a little Polar Bear White over the “purple” and wait for the perfect time to paint the bedroom. It’s a slam dunk I know for sure. I painted the bedroom before, and I don’t remember any issues.

Tom is off to North Dakota for four days, and I think that I will whip this baby out in no time.

The bedroom is about 300 square feet with three doors that have 4-5 panels, one chimney, four windows, and two dormers. There are wall-to-wall carpet, wide baseboards and molding, one ceiling fan, and one cast-iron standing radiator. 

So many cut-ins and angles, and a slanted ceiling.

AND in this room is a king-size sleigh bed and two dressers. The king-size bed is like a small island in the middle of the room!

No problem! I can just get this done before he gets back and our little piece of heaven will be so peaceful and restful.

Tom leaves Friday, and I can’t close the door on him soon enough. Off to get all my supplies gathered—rollers and brushes, a super large canvas drop cloth and two-step stools, paint pans and liners, blue painter’s tape and rags, paper and mini-sander, and a vacuum.

I wash the walls and trim.

I carry most of the drawers from Tom’s dresser into another room, because Tom forgot to move it before he left. I move both dressers out from the walls and keep trying to figure out the PLAN. How do I start? Where do I start? “LORD, help me,” is my mantra. 

I’m pretty excited, but apprehension is setting in. More like dread is setting in. 

Okay, just start. I sand chipping paint off the baseboard, only to have to come back and use a putty knife to scape it. Double the trouble. Next, I tape the carpet next to the baseboard. 

Okey-Dokey, onward and upward.

Lord, where do I start? “In the corner by the door,” He says. And so goes the conversation of the painting of the room. Lord, where or how do I do this?

Up and down the step stools. Drag the humongous canvas drop cloth back and forth. 

I struggle to get a fourth of the room done. I’m crabby and feeling gross and I’m eating off of paper plates.

I’m exhausted! What did I get myself into? I am overwhelmed with self-pity. Wah-wah.

I get up the next day ready to go blazing. I talk to Tom, and we encourage each other. He’s having great meetings, and I’m craning my neck and painting away. 

Did I say I was crabby? I know Tom is biting his tongue as we talk on the phone, and I regret my attitude.

Lord, pleeeeease help me!

I press on and on. 

The ceiling above the “island” is a challenge, but, hey, there has to be a way.  Not only is it up there, like up there, but there is a slant too.

AGAIN I cry out LORD, “How do I do this?” 

You load up your roller on a pole and lie on your back and paint! That’s how you do it!

Second day is done, and I think I see progress.

Day three is church and day of rest, thank the Lord.

Day four it is finished … well, kind of. I need Tom to take off some hardware from the windows that I couldn’t handle with his drill but it looking kind of good. 

Hey LORD, you and I are a great team.

Day four is move-back-in day, and I can’t wait for Tom to come home to see my masterpiece.

He drives 7 hours home after a very successful trip. He is beyond pooped, and I bid my time until I can’t take it any longer and say, “Want to see the bedroom?”

Up we go, and he says, “That’s very nice. You did a good job. Thank you.”