Painting is Therapy

We decided to sell our rent house, the one we bought and fixed up for Caroline and Colten when they moved back to Muleshoe. They didn’t live in it very long; Neil came along, swept her off her feet and whisked her off to Clovis. And that’s a good thing, but it left us with an empty house to do something with. So we have rented it to three different tenants. No matter how nicely tenants treat a house, living takes it toll, and repairs have to be made. So the time has come to move on, sell the house, and get out from under that responsibility.

The process has begin. Our last renter was a young single divorced dad with three kids and a job that kept him busy. In the grand scheme of things, he did a darn good job keeping the house in tact. We were not disappointed like we had been with the family of four who asked us to replace the carpet, which we did, and then they would do things like spill Kool-Aid on it and instead of cleaning it up, just scooted a piece of furniture over the stain.

But the fact remains it is a given that even the best-kept homes show their age after a while, and repairs have to be made and cleaning has to be done. Welcome to the world of a landlord.

I went over today to paint the kitchen cabinets. I really don’t mind painting. It’s the getting everything ready that is the chore. I started with the kitchen, shown in the picture. Bill took off the pulls, I did some wiping and cleaning, opened the can of paint, positioned my knee pad,  and the transformation began.

And what a transformation. Little nicks, big nicks, glaring scrapes, wear and tear, unclean-able dirty spots, magically disappeared as the paint glided on. And suddenly it all looked new and eager to share a life with a new family.

I know painting sounds like work, but really, with each brush stroke giving immediate results as blemishes are covered, the chore seems less like work and more like a relaxation technique. Cares of the day tend to be forgotten as the focus becomes smoothing on the paint. And in the end, when I sit back and admire the clean and fresh interior and marvel at what a major difference a little paint can make, I have a contented feeling of satisfaction at a job well done. And that, I assure you, is therapeutic.

If only it were that easy to make all the messes and mistakes I have made in my lifetime disappear…