Bumps and Bruises (are all right with me)

“Living in an age of advertisement, we are perpetually disillusioned. The perfect life is spread before us every day, but it changes and withers at a touch.”

~Joseph Priestley (1733-1804)

When we bought our house I was exceedingly excited about was our new wood floor. After years of carpet and then laminate we were finally going to get the real thing (if only in a small area). Everything was new and pristine. The sinks sparkled, the counters shined and the wood floor was gloriously smooth and alluring. It all but begged for Risky Business. Then we moved in; two adults, two young children, three cats, two dogs and a bird. We subsequently had a third child and have now lived in this house for eight years. Shall we just say it is no longer pristine.

There are bumps and bruises in the drywall, nail pops along the ceiling, extra paint on the window sills, chips on the counter tops, nonexistent drawer pulls, imperturbable carpet stains and a multitude of blemishes on the wood floor. In front of the refrigerator the wood floor is bowing. One board, that oddly enough resides just under the water spout (read sarcasm here), curves upward and has pulled away from the edges of the other boards.

My parents had a similar defect in their wood floor caused by a refrigerator leak. This prompted them to replace the board and subsequently refinish their entire wood floor so as to get the replacement to match. This process was both expensive and labor intensive. Ironically the replaced board is now hunched again. They are back to square one (just where they should be).

And here is my secret. Shhh! Don't tell. I was shocked when my parents went to all that trouble. Why? Because I like the bump in my floor. It is the perfect place to slide a stockinged foot. Imagine me, in my pajamas, yawning, stretching and pouring that first cup of coffee. Then I greet the house by running my foot over the defective board.

It's hard to explain. It's as if the board bowed just for me. Kind of like the divot on the handle of my favorite creamer container. This divot is the absolutely perfect place to rest my thumb. And when I hold that container magic happens - my shoulders relax and a calm comes over me. Things are as they should be. The same holds true with my wood floor. I run my foot over the board and my body relaxes. It is as it is -- just right.

This doesn't mean I'll keep that floor forever. I still pine for others -- specifically reclaimed wide plank flooring throughout the entire house (Hello? Universe? Do you hear me?). But, really, things are perfect just as they are -- bumps, bruises and all.

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Things I'm loving today:

• The sweet cluck of chickens as heard through the bedroom window.
• Black bean and sweet pepper quinoa salad.
• Blooms on the apricot tree cascading over the red roof of the chicken coop.
• Extracurricular science projects with Middle (as requested by her).
• Red Box coupon codes DVDONME and BREAKROOM (can't beat free movies!).
• And, of course, my bumpy wood floor and perfect creamer container.

Things I'm hoping for today:

• I hope my space bar stops sticking.
• I hope to squeeze tree care into our budget (a large elm in our yard needs to go).
• I hope to win a set of bagpipes from this drawing (oh how AMAZING that would be!).
• A productive yet minimally stressful weekend at work.