It’s about 8:10pm on a Monday night. I had planned on putting the second coat of paint on the trim in the nursery ( I started painting yesterday), but I came home to my wife raking the yard. Much to my disappointment, she selected “rake the yard” when I asked whether she wanted me to rake or to paint. With a baby on the way, options like “watch tv” and “pick out belly button lint” no longer make the short list of viable after-work activities. If I am really lucky, I may even get to rake the back yard tomorrow night after work! Weeeeee!

As I just mentioned, I started painting the nursery yesterday. It took 2 trips to Home Depot, a fair amount of procrastination, and maybe even a little whining to round things out to get started. For me painting is like starting to run after you haven’t run in about 25 years. The first 2 minutes aren’t so bad – you think things like “this isn’t so bad” and “hmmmm, this is kinda fun.” Then doubt starts to creep in over the next 2 minutes – “why is my arm making that popping noise when I move it a certain way” and “gee, this paint goes on slowly.” This session of doubt is quickly replaced by a the brick wall of reality – “this isn’t fun” and “why am I doing this.” Then the remaining time is spent thinking things like “I hate painting” and “hmmm… that John Mayer song isn’t too bad.” I managed to get the ceiling and the first coat on all of the trim. I still have a fair amount of painting to do, but it will have to wait until the raking is done ( which I despise only slightly less than painting ).

Well, I have managed to spend about 13 minutes writing this entry so far. My wife has since gone to bed and my legs have fallen asleep. Standing up with sleeping legs is always such a treat – reminds me of Steve Martin trying to dance in the movie “The Jerk.”

I will update more later… until then, rake, paint, and be merry. (and don’t forget to vote)