Pick Pick Pick

One of Callie's quirks is she hates imperfections in clothing.  If there's a thread she'll pull it till like a cartoon her sweater completely unravels into a pile of thread on the floor.  If there's a hole she'll pick and pick at it.  Sometimes, as today, she makes the hole, generally with a pencil, and then picks or pulls at it till the item of clothing is unwearable.   What leads her to wreck something perfectly good I don't know.  I just know with her, once it's begun there's no stopping it.

As with so many of Callie's quirks they often relate to life lessons for me. We are repurposing the recently deserted bedroom of our Christopher into an office/sewing or craft area.  For, well ever, I've had to pull  out my machine and then put it away, often on a daily basis due to some fingers that just can't stay away.  Now I can set it all up and leave it be - close the door on it, even lock it and trust that it'll still be there when I return.  We can also deal with the mounds of paperwork that this family requires behind closed doors, maybe putting all of it into some semblance of order and maybe even getting a little writing time of my own done without interruption - well, that fantasy may be taking it a bit too far.  

This weekend Mark and I shopped for a good office chair and, thinking that some bright bold color would be a nice change from the standard black we purchased a royal blue chair.  As we started putting the room together I suddenly realized the walls are a sea foam green.  Royal blue most definitely does not go with a  royal blue.  The red chair we looked at may have gone better, but also could have been exchanged with the upstairs black office chair and would have matched, but not the royal blue.  Suddenly the whole room was ruined in my mind because nothing would even slightly match and what in heavens name would I do for an area carpet that would go with those two completely opposing colors.  

As I was complaining and chastising my tirelessly patient husband about it I realized it's much like Callie's picking.  I took something that is just fine - new to me, functional, bright, clean and picked and picked until, in my mind at least, it was ruined.  How incredibly unappreciative could I possibly be?   I am going to have my very own space and every time I look at and sit in that very comfortable chair I will remind myself how very blessed and privileged my life is and the fact that I could get all worked up about the color of a brand new chair is just another reminder to be ever so grateful for the amazing life I live with an unbelievably patient man.