Marking time

We’ve converted the garage space in our home so it serves as our office/classroom/studio. We spend most of our waking hours here doing all the stuff we do. And it’s a perfectly habitable space, carpeted and painted a pleasantly neutral off-white, but I decided it would be much more fun to paint the walls all different and really bright primary colors. (I’m just really enjoying our Fiesta furniture.)

So, I’m all inspired and thinking how cool it’s going to be and looking for a really fun quote for the walls, and pulling out a poster I got at the Getty that I’ve been wanting to have framed, and I found some lava lamps at Target that were pretty affordable, which made me totally want to get five of them and line them up in a row (Yes. a Google knock-off – but can you just picture this?)

As I’m cruising through the space making all my big plans, and making notes, Jonathan comes in and gives me a hug. (all 4 of my kids are super affectionate.) I’m still distracted, mind you, so I absentmindedly return his affection and go to give him a kiss, when I realize I am kissing his brow. Huh? I’m confused. I usually kiss the top of his head. And for that I have to lean over. Or at least I used to. Didn’t I? When did he grow like this? Where was I?

So, I march him over to the post that serves as our growth chart. And make him stand with his heels against it and make the pencil mark in the post and write yesterday’s date and his name. I call Lucy in and follow the same routine. Jonathan has grown 2 inches since his birthday in December! And so, we stand there by the post and marvel at how much they’ve grown, which we do every time we take their measurements. The moment passes just as quickly and I try to remember where I was when I got distracted by my growing kids.

Oh, that’s right. Paint. It’s going to be so great to paint over the dirty walls. . .
But, I am suddenly confronted with a choice.
Not a big one, mind you. And really, no one would ever even know.
But I would. And it matters to me.
And yes, it would look 100% better painted over and matching the rest of the space (which is going to look awesome when we finish =D).
But it comes to this:
Genuinely living is far more important to me than the appearance of perfection.
And real life is not always pretty.
At that moment I decide that there is no way I’m going to paint over this evidence of my real life.

No way.