THE PREPARATION
(Part II in a series)

From the planning stage, I moved into the active processes of accumulating materials and supplies and doing any “prep work” I could in anticipation of “remodel day”. I bought strips of lumber to be made into baseboards: I measured all the angles of the walls and closets in the bedroom and I learned how to use a miter saw. I cut those baseboards, labeling each piece with an alpha-numeric code to insure proper placement around the perimeter of the room, methodically working through the inward-facing and outward-facing corners of the room: measure and cut, measure and cut. I stained those baseboards to match the rest of the woodwork in the room and stacked them in the garage in readiness for “the day”. I purchased paint, wallpaper, a new rug for the floor and new curtains for the windows. I checked and rechecked my lists and schedules and got ready for the birthday surprise – a bedroom remodel!

Now, I’m not quite sure what made me think that I could accomplish this remodel in one day – pretty much single-handedly – but that was the ambition I brought to the day. And that is how I laid my plans. And so the day arrived.

The moment my husband left the house and had driven around the corner, out of sight of the house, the action began. I had enlisted the help of a couple of housemates, who happened to be strong young men. They gladly removed the furniture and the paneling from the bedroom before they left for their jobs for the day.

I was left alone, with an empty house and an empty room. I brought in a ladder, spread out newspaper on the floor to protect the carpet, taped up my beloved lists and schedules and with my adrenaline flowing, I began the process of transforming our bedroom. I had a lot of confidence in my planning and my lists, so although I was excited to get started, I was not particularly anxious or over-wrought. I put the radio on, and began washing walls. It didn’t occur to me that I had taken on more than I could accomplish in one day.

(To be continued)