Every mother needs a daughter like mine. She likes to cook, clean, and tear stuff up . . . yes, that's right . . . I said tear stuff up. Really, she likes to remodel. Maybe it's because we have been remodeling our 1862 home for the last 21 years. All of the kids have had a helping hand in the renovation, but it's my Kristin that really enjoys the work. She has helped me paint, paper, prime, and plaster, among many other household tasks. I really appreciate all she does to help me, and so does her father, because that takes some of the burden off of him. (He's been working long hard hours away from home.)
I always appreciate the finished product, but the best part is working together. We really do have fun in the process of giving things a face-lift. We laugh, we giggle, we strain our muscles, and our minds, but it is always fun.
On Saturday morning at 9:30 the ripping and revamping began. Kristin can use a crowbar like Picasso uses a paintbrush, and by 11:30 she and Laura Merkel were both using a paintbrushes. Picasso would have been so proud. I was plastering the holes that were too big for duck tape to cover. (Shhhhh, please don't tell anyone we used duck tape to cover the holes in the plaster - especially my hubby.) At 2:00 pm Kristin and Laura were putting the puzzle pieces of four free standing wooden shelf units together. I was refinishing the 152 year-old wooden floor and wondering: What in the world I was going to do with all of my junk, and tomorrow is Mother's Day - how will we get this all done before sundown. Yikes!!!! But by 6:00 pm my old, crazy closet had become something that looked like an advertisement in a magazine.
On Mother's Day I couldn't have been happier or more grateful.
So here's to all of those moms out there who are afraid of teenage daughters: If you respect them - they'll respect you. Be mom first, friend second. If you show them how to work in a fun and informative way - they just might help you give your closet a Mother's Day makeover.