Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Truth About Wallpaper

Ever since we moved into our house, our guest bathroom has had dark green wallpaper with pink roses on it. Suffice it to say - this is not our style. However, due to lots of procrastinating, some knowledge of the work involved w/ stripping wallpaper, and my sheer inability to dig deep & muster the motivation, the wallpaper has stayed put for nearly 4 years.

A while back the kids discovered a little tear in the paper and simply could not help themselves from ripping off tiny pieces and exposing more and more of the wall. Ok, truth be told, I may have actually started this...perhaps a deep, evolutionary connection to picking at things, like my distant relatives, the chimpanzees, picking for bugs in each others fur!

Last summer I decided to invited everyone who used the bathroom (family and guests alike) to feel free to peel away a strip of wallpaper. My thinking was: a) I would be motivated (irritated) by the slowly appearing wall to actually "take the plunge," and b) It may actually make my job easier if everyone just did it for me.

It didn't make my job any easier. It just pissed me off. It was an unfinished, half-assed, ugly, annoying part of my house - and I saw it EVERY DAY! So did my husband and kids... but it really didn't bug them.

Now, I am a BIG believer in your living space (home, physical environment, etc.) being a very accurate representation or metaphor for your life. So, for a few years, I have been wondering what the "rosy" Guest Bathroom says about my life.

Finally, I think I have discovered what part of my life my guest bathroom represents: (pardon the "potty" humor, but it kind of seems appropriate here) - My avoidance of STINKY, SHITTY things!

For a while I was able to avoid dealing with it and even find some acceptance with the dark, flowered meadow, that was my guest bathroom.

But, after a while... I knew the wallpaper just had to go. Slowly, at first. Then, I decided to bring others on board - thinking they could somehow make things happen where I could not. Here is the truth about wallpaper; it takes time to remove it, it takes motivation, it benefits from a little help, but it really is a one woman job (especially in a small bathroom).

Three weeks ago I started the REAL work. You would think that once I started I would want to get it done quickly. Nope, not me. I have chosen instead to draw this out as long as possible! I stripped the easy places first and left the residual paper and glue clinging to the walls. Then I removed the hardware. The I took off some more wallpaper. Then I "let" my brother, visiting from Hawaii, help me (I am pretty sure he was thinking it would take me a year if he didn't step in and assist). Turns out, stripping the paper is quite a process, especially when you have gouged the dry wall and the floorboards are GLUED on!

I am STILL not done - not even ready to paint yet, but I am happy to report that the wallpaper is gone! I think part of me is enjoying the process of CHANGE and TRANSFORMATION. When you think about something for as long as I have thought about the wallpaper in the bathroom you want to let it all unfold slowly, right?

And this SLOW unfolding - or "peeling" has taught me something. Sometimes we avoid things because we think they will be really SHITTY, but we end up not really minding them so much - infact, sometimes they make us feel capable, motivated, and even empowered! And sometimes, it is totally ok to avoid them until you are just ready. In fact, when you are ready to tackle the "stinky" thing you have been avoiding, maybe it won't feel so much like a tackle as it will a gentle roll in a meadow. And maybe, that meadow will be dark green and dotted with pink roses.

So, what is your "wallpaper"? What have you been avoiding that you may just be ready to move on?

The truth about wallpaper is sometimes it is OK to leave it on for a while and sometimes it reaches a point where it just HAS to go!