My husband has just about finished painting our house, and boy, is he ready to have this job done. Technically, and wisely, this has actually been a two summer chore. He painted three quarters of it last summer and left the backside for 2013. Sound strange? Perhaps, but I thought it was an absolutely brilliant decision on his part.
Historically, when it came time to paint our house, it was an intense, well done project that occupied his time from sun up ’til sundown. A professional painter in his younger years, my husband has never been one to cut corners on workmanship. It’s all about precision quality for this guy. That should tell you something about his approach. Thorough is an understatement! (As for my contributions? Well, once upon a time I was out there with our six week old daughter in her infant seat, painting away and pretty much hating every minute of it. No, house painting was never my one true calling.)
But this time around, things were different. Now retired, you might think he’d have all the time in the world to grind away at this paint job. But that’s the best part. Because he is retired, there are plenty of other things he wants to do rather than paint this house. Hence, the two summer approach. (Just to be clear, we live in the middle of nowhere. Only the foxes, frogs, and herons gaze upon the backside of the house all year long!) Genius, right?
There’s a lesson in this for all of us and it’s quite simple: to fully enjoy the second half, it just may mean approaching things in a very different fashion!