I was planning on just putting up a border on the top of my sisters room quick... I had no idea that it was a "quick nothing!" situation! So I sang along with the radio, happily oblivious of what would transpire momentarily. The room was going to be beautiful, after personally helping put the pergo flooring in, painting the whole thing myself I was so proud of my work, and while I'm not crazy about sunflower boarders, the room was going to look great, no mater what... Well... that is if I did a nice tidy job, didn't ruin the new floor or paint job... Hung the boarder strait... that sort of thing. It all started as I was finishing up a nice long section and ready for Emily to hold the end of the paper so I could move my ladder... Unfortunently however, Emily was gone...! In fact no one was around... I know... because I was yelling at the top of my lungs for someone to come save me. With no one to hold the end I was stuck... streached from the ladder to the wall as far as I could reach... hanging six feet above the ground... And if I let go? My entire stip was destined to come crashing down in a sticky gooy mess... I moved from one foot to the other... trying not to nock the bucket of gooy glue off the step next to me, or the large tub of water on top the ladder. Who knew what they would do to the floor? My hair was sticking to my sweaty self... wall paper glue everywhere... drying into gooy masses.. boy did that tub of hot soapy water look good? It's funny how much time drags when your stuck on a high ladder, six feet in the air, hair everywhere, bangs sticking to your cheeks in wall paper glue... and worst of all going to fall at any moment...."EMILY WALTERS!!!!!!!" And I am afraid I am a completely guilty of the sin of extreme frustration. I was so miffed... and then, thank goodness... she finally she arrived. Relief... Pure and simple... But relief was short lived... because it was at that very moment I realized the piece I had been hanging there so faithfully for...needed to be cut again. That little fuzzy white from the backing would show through forever... It would have to be trimmed now. If I had been smart, I would have taken the whole thing down a few feet and cut it with a scissors... But after all that work? No... I was not going to loose a SINGLE inch... So back up the ladder I went... razor in hand... Since this was such a quick cut, I didn't bother to move the ladder closer to the operation... That was only one of my mistakes. I gripped my slightly dull double bladed razor tightly... or as tightly as possible... seeing it was a double blade with no handle... That leaves just enough room for an index finger and a thum to hold on very very carfully. You can guess the outcome if I DIDN'T hold of carfully...I stepped one step higher on the ladder... I reached... putting one hand on the wall, I took one foot off the lader... anything for that extra inch! All the while, trying to keep that tub of glue in my perefrial vision...would hate to see that thing fall! Not to mention the gallon of soapy, boiling hot water...I reached... not close enough yet...I leaned just a little farther and then... it happened... in a big rush... there it went flying through the air... I saw it in slow montion... Water... hot... soapy water... in a big long whoosh! The bucket falling slowly... and then KERSPLASH! as it hit the floor. The brand new fresh...perfect floor! I felt my mouth drop open as I dived off the ladder...! And in the far corner of my eye I saw it slide... the wall paper! Going going GONE! While water moves slowly... wall paper boarders move quickly, and they fall into sticky unusable messes! This was TOO much! But I had more important things to worry about... careless of anything and everything, I HAD to get that water cleaned up. A ruined boarder was one thing... but bubbled flooring was a completely diferent story! In a rush...I jerked the blanket off the bed, if I was imagining it like in the movies, where the blanket comes, and the stuff stays there... I was wrong... paint sticks, putty knives, brushes, rags and half of a Home Depot of other good stuff went flying. EVERYWHERE...So frustrated I could have screamed I shoved the ladder to the side in a quick angry motion saying something like, "ugh! I don't need this". I only saw it from the corner of my eye... as Shedaisy sang the final notes to "life's so sweet" on the radio, and then, "floop.... kerplop....." and there it was, up side down on the floor... And the last of the glue... slowly gooing out... I didn't know where to turn next! In a lake, glue seeping into the cracks of the floor and water covering half an army worth of home improvment supplies... and my boarder, hanging into the midst of it... I could have cried... but instead I had to laugh... cause I was just noticing the song blasting out over the radio..."What a beautiful mess, What a beautiful mess I'm in...." And how much more perfect could you get? God may teach us lessons on life and patience through tribulation... but at least he has a sence of humor!


September 27th 2004