All Torn Up Inside

"You look at the floor and see the floor. I look at the floor and see molecules." ~Dan Aykroyd

"If God wanted us to bend over he'd put diamonds on the floor." ~Joan Rivers


OK ... this can't wait any longer. I see Genny is trying to steal not only my thunder, but the clever blog titles as well. (It's okay, Genny; I'll share. I like you! And seeing as neither one of us knew the other was installing flooring this week ...) I finished all of the tiling between January and April, and I keep telling people that this will be the last major "project" we will undertake while living in this house. But I'm pretty sure we'll have to paint, too.

The kids have wanted to be in the thick of the "wood floors" from day one (they've been practicing their sock-sliding techniques). Being the wise, cautious mother I am, (it had nothing to do with being a control freak ... really ... you gotta believe me), I shooed them away at first, warning them about the dangers of nails and tack strips and crowbars and carpet knives. Soon, though, my husband handed a hammer to a kid and let him/her pound the crowbar under a baseboard. That was all it took. Soon they were ripping up carpet and carpet pad, pulling nails, and prying up tack strips with the greatest of ease.

My husband was reminded of a book he read some time ago about a man who tended to get his whole family involved in large "projects" such as this, and how good it was for them as a family. We shall see. So far, the kids are having fun, and I have not slit my wrists. Things are looking good.

As of this morning, the boxes of floor have now spent more than 48 hours "acclimating" to the environmental conditions of our home, and I have a scratchy, sore throat and an aching back. I told my husband that every time we rip up part of the floor, I wake up with a sore throat. I think I may be allergic to dust ... or concrete, one. And as for the back, my mother gave me good advice once. Loosely summarized, "Comes a time when you bend one way to get down and you have to remember to reverse the motion to get back up; otherwise you kind of get stuck in that position." Great advice, but I always forget until I do get a crick in my back and by then I can no longer access the file in my brain that holds the instructions for reversal. It's getting old.

Guess what we're doing this Labor Day weekend? After I get a hot bath, of course.

Genny, let's be in touch, eh? Oh, and can I borrow some o' that Benadryl? =)