Saturday 21 September 2013

Caution: men and women at work!

Today, I learned a valuable lesson. Advertisements lie. Especially Dulux. 

All the Dulux advertise their broad spectrum of colours in tastefully choreographed adverts of young couples and families frolicking around rooms gleefully painting their rooms in colours like; warm sands, moonlight bay and soft lime. A young couple playfully flick paint at each other and in some scenes a dad sits patiently painting a safari mural on his daughters bedroom wall as she colours in giraffe stripes. At the end of it all, an old English sheepdog ambles in. 

None of the above is true. 

I spent the day painting our little nest. Pale gold in the kitchen, highline in the bedroom as Bear repeatedly rolled brilliant white on the ceiling and Papa pottered around filling in gaps with plaster. Within minutes I was covered in paint, it flicked into my eyes so I had to wear super sexy goggles to ensure I don't become any more blind than I already am. My clothes, boots and hair were splattered in shades of white, yellow and beige. I dread to think of the scene when we start on the red bathroom!! This never happens in the ads- the home owners are always mucking about in pristine jeans and white shirts- not a speck of colour in their perfectly groomed hair. 

This was the scene I was expecting when Papa burst in, telling it was time to paint. I imagined perfect brushstrokes and a playful flick of yellow landing on Bears clean-shaven face. Not the way it worked out, though I couldn't resist when the opportunity to run the roller of white through little bros hair, giving him a Cruella de Ville-esque streak through his thicket of black curls. In saying that, I thought booping Papa on the head with a full paint brush was going a step too far. 

However, painting is slow, boring and slightly soul-destroying it is awesome to see the finished product and for for the first time throughout the entire build I can claim ownership and say: 'I made that!'. Papa was right. I would feel a sense of achievement at the end of it. 

Today, I think, was our most productive on site as everything started to take shape. A doorframe created by little bro meant a hole in the wall became a door and an arrangement of glass blocks became a contemporary design feature, suddenly a shed is becoming more like a home. A home, we decided, created and designed together. This is our baby, something we both created out of both our personalities, and given the amount of care and commitment it needs right now, it's baby enough for me for a long time. I'm exhausted from catering to all its needs and the thoughts of a soft pillow and cosy bed have never been so appealing, though I think the swish swish of the paintbrush will echo in my dreams. 

Some say, get a dog to test your parenting skills as a couple- I say build a house from scratch.   

***the writer wants to acknowledge that without the help of Papa, Ma-Ma, Little Bro and their vast array of skills and talents, none of this would be possible for Bear and I. 


No comments:

Post a Comment