When I was a kid I HATED being dragged through Home Depot. It was huge and tiring to walk. There were nasty chemical smells, which I've always been super-sensitive to. There was never anything for kids there so I couldn't get a reward for being good during the shopping trip. On top of all that my mom was walking through anxious about the things that would dangerous to kids, not exactly the energy that makes a kid enthusiastic. My dad was always the instigator of these jaunts, but he never had unbridled enthusiasm for anything really, DIY projects around the house included.
As an adult I lived in quite a few dorm rooms and apartments where I wasn't permitted to change anything. Mike's house where I moved after the string of apartments was painted all one color. The whole house was powder blue walls and dark blue trim, the whole house. Since I knew that was temporary I never felt compelled to change things very much. I even outright resented the time, energy and money poured into that stupid little rental.
My pregnancy changed all that. I had a nursery to plan. Now like that kid you always hated who grew up to be kind of a hottie I re-introduced myself to Home Depot. It was a tentative first date. I only needed painted, but it was the first time going there had ever been fun.
When we moved suddenly I had a whole house to make my own and I felt like, "Home Depot where have you been all my life?" I started with paint, four rooms worth of walls and baseboards to choose. Then we needed a drain plug for the bathtub that was toddler proof, blinds for our front window and plants for the backyard.
Every trip there now is exciting. The possibilities are endless. There's all the immediate stuff and then there's the "someday list". I "pick out" $100 wood blinds for the master bedroom, Martha Stewart window treatments for the front window, a $200 grill for Michael to use on the back patio, a beautiful top-of-the line dishwasher, a chandelier for over the dinning room table and a new ceiling fan for the bedroom. It's a big list but "someday" is a long time away.
I know my way around Home Depot as well as I know my way around the grocery store (not quite as well as Target). I go there with confidence and direction. I no longer feel like everyone's staring at me because I don't belong. I park and mount an electric cart and zip around choosing things for my house. We've come a long way, Home Depot and I.
We still fight now and then when aisles are blocked by layers of displays and I can't get through or when things are too high for me to reach. We usually make up in the end though. I always laugh when things in the store sport "out of order" signs... come on guys, don't you have the tools to fix it? When the staff is around (they're elusive) they're always very friendly.
I guess I'm a real grown up now because I'd rather buy things for the house than myself.
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