Gloves & August

Courtesy of morgueFile.com http://mrg.bz/zsuZiG

Courtesy of morgueFile.com
http://mrg.bz/zsuZiG

When I was growing up, my best friend lived across the street. I was at his house all the time. I ate peanut M&M’s there. I watched tapes of David Letterman there. I flipped through baseball cards there.

However, I was not in the living room.

MUSEUM HOUSE

Actually, the living room was a museum. You could not touch anything! We weren’t allowed to sit on the couches. Ever. It simply was a passageway to move from upstairs to downstairs and vice versa.

I used to buzz my friend with questions about the living room museum.

Do your parents ever sit in there?

Have you ever sat in there?

What do you think would happen if we sat there?

Are the sofas really comfortable?

By the time I moved away, I had managed to sit down in the living room twice. However, both times were for a mere matter of seconds. I couldn’t even tell how comfortable the furniture was because I got up so quickly due to my fear of getting caught.

PLAY HOUSE

My house was the opposite – a play house. Other than the fine china which I was not allowed to eat off of till I was in my mid-teens (on special occasions), nothing was off limits. My brothers and I had free reign. Unfortunately, the house wore the wear and tear of four rambunctious boys and was always in need of repair.

I knew that one day when I would be the head of a household, I did not want a museum house or a play house.  I wanted the best of both worlds. My house would be neat and tidy, but the children would have fun and consider it their house too.

This July marked six years since my family moved into our home here in the suburbs. Prior to moving in, we had the house painted. Now, I have read (and/or been told) that you should paint every five years.

There is only so long the magic eraser sponge (good product) could keep the marks at bay. By the time we hit five years in our house, I wanted the marks gone. However, first, we had a roofing issue that needed to be addressed. Anyway, one thing led to another and finally six years in we are painting.

PAINTING

As you can imagine, I am very excited to have the house painted. In anticipation of this day (the bedrooms are done and the rest of the house will be done over the next few weeks), I have been warming my children.

Of what? You may be thinking.  Hands off the walls. Both boys seem to reach for the walls instinctively as if they could peel chocolate chip cookies off the wall. I’ve been telling them – no not yelling at them, much, – to keep their hands off the walls. I have been trying to prepare them for when the house is painted.

SOLUTION

Despite my pleas, yells, and reminders, the boys seem incapable of breaking this habit. So, I came up with a solution, they are going to walk around with gloves. These gloves of course will have to be cleaned on a regular basis to make sure they do not stain the walls.

So, there you have it – gloves in August. And every month hereafter. It really is the perfect solution. While our house will never be a museum house, at least we can protect the walls.

18 thoughts on “Gloves & August

  1. Can you imagine what their friends are going to think coming over to your house! Someday they will be adults writing blog posts about their friends who had to wear gloves during the summer!!! We are constantly painting at our house due to all the dings these kids put into the walls!

    • I did not think about that. However, I am willing to take their stares and confusion. Yet, it is very possible that they will be so blown away by the walls that they wont notice.

  2. We grew up in a house we could live in, and that was my goal for my little family, too. The doors are always open and the furniture is sturdy enough to put your feet on it (Thanks goodness for La-Z-Boy!) and you can sit on any surface! I keep touch up paint on hand and every couple of months go through and clean up the areas that the magic eraser can’t fix. Of course, we painted every room before I moved it – and there are still some areas where you can tell we goofed – and I just look past them! Have fun painting!

    • Come on Kate – are you trying to make me feel guilty? Well, tough I am not taking it. I will never be in a museum house but would like the walls to stay nice for as long as possible. You know we got the kind of paint that is washable. I’m nothing if not realistic.

  3. ha!ha! I love that idea of wearing gloves in August to avoid any marks in the walls ha!ha! 😉 maybe I should have Nate and hubby do the same around here 🙂
    I remember, the house of my best-friend had a and I was surprised that my parent-in-law have one of those living rooms too, I’ve asked hubby if they have ever sat there? nope, only for Christmas. Now, when we got there Sunday afternoons, my son runs towards their living room and touches everything (I don’t think they like it too much) ha!ha! when I was a kid we had a fun house too and now I love raising my kid in a casual space! maybe when he will be older I will upgrade our furniture but for now, it’s easy living around here 🙂

    • I can just imagine your in-laws grinning and bearing it for their grandchild.
      I think you should have Nate do that. Start him young.

      • ha!ha! you should see my hubby’s grandma’s face, I always think she will have a heart attack when Nate is in their living room (last Christmas, Nate spilled hubby’s coffee on their “expensive” rug and then he scratched their coffee table with hubby’s car keys) (I wanted to hide under the rug) ha!ha! as for the gloves in august, I told hubby and he doesn’t want to wear them! 🙂 ha!ha! 🙂

  4. You are a genius! Why didn’t I think of that?

    And I think I’ll make their toys wear gloves too, for when they go flying through the air and crash into my perfectly painted new walls. Gloves for everything!

    • I always appreciate that first line. Of course, I don’t think I have ever heard it before.
      Gloves for everything – who’s buying?

  5. Hi,
    This is funny. Gloves in August. I remember never being able to keep my hands off the walls. It was something magical about them that called to me. Of course, my parents went through all the routines about not touching this and not touching that, but it never sank into my brain. So on this one, I can really understand your boys.

    Nice article, filled with lots of humor and I enjoyed it.
    Ciao,
    Patricia

    • So nice to hear from you again. It has been too long.
      My boys are like you – hands on the walls. Did any method ever work with you?
      I just want to keep the walls looking good – at least for a little while.
      I’m glad you enjoyed the post.

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