Post date: Jul 4, 2015 5:11:48 AM
Friday, July 3rd
We all have a short list of friends who will ignore their own list of chores to help you under pressure, as I learned this past week. My husband and I moved into a condo in late February, and are selling our old house; however, with so many other houses in the area up for sale, we needed to do something to make buyers consider us. So we decided to remove the wallpaper in two rooms and have them painted. Another friend suggested we paint a third room, which had bright yellow paint. My realtor assured me she had a technique that would work: mix very hot water and fabric softener in a spray bottle, soak the paper, score the paper with a paper tiger tool, and use a putty knife.
I sent a couple of texts and email messages and soon had two dear friends committing to help. The first friend, LaVonne, came and helped me pick out paint, gather supplies and haul them over. We worked for several hours on the old master bedroom, which had green wallpaper with pictures of small fish and the names of fish species in cursive handwriting in the background. We chatted away and were pleasantly surprised that the method worked: my husband joined us and pitched in, and then treated us to a very late supper. The next day found the two of us back at it and still chatting, sharing, commiserating, and catching up. Finally, after filling up six or seven very large black garbage bags with several layers of wallpaper scraps, we surveyed the results. The room looked bigger!
Next, my second friend, Robin, helped me work on a second floor bathroom: we joked that it was a good thing we were such close friends, because we were working in such a small space. Again, we spent the entire time chatting, catching up on family, book club, and plans for the summer. The walls seemed a little different in this room and we worried about how well they would look repainted. We took a break for lunch and returned with renewed enthusiasm, even if only to finish the job. At the end, Robin was standing on a rug in my tub while I stood on a low stepstool just outside and leaned in, as we both worked on the areas above and beside the tub.
I had an epiphany while cleaning up: the process of removing wallpaper is time consuming, can be painful for those of us not accustomed to such work, and creates a tremendous mess! All in all, it took about 20 hours for three people to complete the work in our old master bedroom: the small bathroom took at least 10 hours. However, it was also an intensely rewarding experience, in spite of aching shoulders, arms and hands. My friends and I had a shared task with rather defined boundaries; we were all busy but took time to work together, and in doing so, strengthened our friendships. When they committed to help me, I had faith they would show up because we had counted on each other before.
When another friend had first suggested removing the wallpaper earlier in the year, I had resisted. After all, I had lived with that green fish wallpaper for fourteen years. Surely someone could imagine the room as she or he might decorate it, ignoring the wallpaper. However, there was no denying the difference it made to have that wallpaper gone, and I felt regret for having resisted. Now, I can’t wait to see the rooms when freshly painted, and I am hopeful that it will make a difference to prospective buyers.
How many times do we resist change? We don’t want to risk failure or looking stupid. We don’t want to make a mess of an already complicated situation. Sometimes, however, we just need the support and encouragement of a friend to make the difference—especially if that friend is willing to grab a squirt bottle and putty knife!