A Spring of Joy

In restoration.

Six weeks ago I asked Brian if we could finally paint the walls and ceiling in the family room/den in our new home. In her book, Bless Your Heart, Tramp, Celia Rivenbank describes exactly what my life has been.

She writes:

…Painting the front door was a simple idea, but it turned into a classic Mars/Venus moment. As a Venusian, I approached the task with a plan: find a nice color, buy a quart, paint the door.

As a card-carrying Martian, my husband approached the task a little differently: find a nice color, then, en route to the register, add a $15 drop cloth, wood putty, primer, stain block, assorted nylon bristle and foam rubber brushes, several grades of sandpaper, a gallon of spackle, joint compound, a two inch roller, paint trays, a bag of shop rags in assorted colors and sizes, WD-40 (just because), a wire brush, caulk, a roller pan, saw horses (in case we needed to take the door down to paint it), a roller extension, masking tape, drill bits (also just because), and a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts from the fresh-faced church youth group selling them beside the cash register.

Now you could argue, as my husband did, that any job worth doing is worth doing right, but then I’d just have to hunt you down and kill you.

Brian also holds to the adage that any job worth doing is worth doing well, so instead of painting walls and ceiling. He tore down acoustic tile ceiling, put up drywall, installed recessed lighting & a ceiling fan, painted said ceiling, tore down one wall and drywalled it, painted the walls, tore up carpet and ceramic tile, refinished the floors and is 95% finished except for some crown molding and shoe molding and minor touch-ups. (All this while also working his “real job”.)

AND our marriage remained intact through it all, even though he sent me to Home Depot a few times armed with my iPhone. I’d walk in those double doors and try not to pass out from how big and overwhelming it is, find the most intelligent looking worker, and show them a picture Bri had emailed me. “My husband needs this,” I’d say, and then I’d follow them through rows and rows of mind-blowing fix-it stuff, take what he handed me, pay and drive home vowing to never set foot in a “hardware store on crack” again. I’m really handy to have around, can you tell?

Y’all, can I just tell you how amazed I am by my man? Some days I look at him and think, “What can’t you do?” My Brian can truly do anything he puts his mind to.

Now let’s just add home remodeling to his list.

And y’all, it’s gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

Wanna see?

Our family room went from this…

To this.

I am blown away. I am blessed. I am amazed. I am humbled that God would give me such a man.