I've got a cabinet that's been in my bathroom because I haven't known what to do with it. After you get divorced, there's an impulse to buy all new furniture and start over. But, unless you're wealthy, that's not very practical. So you do what you can do. I've got a mix of things. I'm slowly working through them, deciding what to keep and what to give away. Picking up some new things. A few years ago I repainted my dressers. Gave them a complete makeover. I didn't want to get rid of them because my grandfather made them and I like them, but they were in our bedroom throughout so they needed to be remade. I painted them white and bought new drawer pulls. They really look great, like they are a new creation. I'm hoping for the same results with the cabinet.
I've had it for years. It was my bedside table, a gift from my then-husband. I really love it, but it makes me sad to look at it. So something needs to change. I've been using a table I like for the last few years, but it's completely unsuitable. Not enough storage for books and doesn't match anything else in the bedroom.
The thing is, it's a pretty complex piece to revamp. There's a drawer and glass doors. The hardware doesn't come off. The feet are an interesting shape and look challenging to paint. I'm sure I can do it, but it's going to take some work, some thought, a bit of strategy, and lots of patience. It's also going to take some time. Tonight I'm taping the glass. It's exacting work because there are six panes edged in wood and I don't want to have to scrape the glass after I'm done. So I'm sitting on a stool, with the cabinet tipped back on a laundry basket so I have a good angle, taping the glass. I've had to lift and re-tape a few times and have had to go over a few spots where my line has not been exact.
It's funny. I can be impulsive about these things. I think to myself, "No problem. I can do this." I go out and buy paint and other supplies and then I get home and really look at the cabinet and realize that the project is a bit more complex than I'd expected. For example, the shelves inside the glass doors are also going to need to be painted. So the work will happen in layers. The inside of the drawer probably needs to be painted also. And before I paint anything else, I'll have to flip it over and do the feet. That will save me a lot of aggravation in the long run.
It's a great metaphor for other things. Like remaking your life after divorce.
And it needs to get done, so you put on Crosby, Stills & Nash and get to work.
The Great Summer Writing Retreat of 2019 continues. One hundred days of writing unedited ideas and following a prompt to its sometimes illogical conclusion.
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