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June 28, 2005

It's No Fun Being a Perfectionist

A week or so ago I was off to my mom's to keep the promise I'd made to paint her patio furniture. Luckily for me the temperatures 'round that neck 'o the woods was much cooler than here in the city. There was a lovely breeze also and it was just right for outdoor painting. My assignment was to revitalize four metal patio chairs that chipped and faded over the years. Mom and I had selected the new color weeks before and I had all my supplies at the ready. All I had to do was mix the colorizer (or whatever you call it) to the white paint and I'd get the color we chose.

NOT.

I mixed, after carefully reading the instructions, and the result was NOT the shade it was supposed to be. It was much lighter. I let that dry for a day and returned to the paint store -- more colorizer, more paint, more brushes. I did it again, it came out EXACTLY the same shade -- lighter than planned. To say I was extremely distressed is putting it mildly. My mom was out of town and I was concerned... no, I'd go so far as to say I was pulling my hair out over the result of the paint job and mom's subsequent and expected disappointment. The thing is, when she returned home, she absolutely LOVED the unplanned color of the chairs.

Lesson learned. When one is a perfectionist, one can work one's self up into a frothy lather over things like this that really don't matter in the big picture of life. In my next life I plan to NOT be a perfectionist. :-)

Cindy