sometimes crafting is like childbirth

 

Up until a few weeks ago, this is what our red wagon looked. Sad. Dilapidated. In desperate need of some TLC. One morning I decided to do something about it.  I called my husband to ask for advice - he laughed. Hard. And then said, "Call the body shop and ask for an estimate!" And laughed some more. I was not discouraged. In fact, I was more determined than ever to do get this done. At that moment I completely forgot about the piles of laundry and the toilets that needed scrubbing - this was personal. And nothing was going to stop me.

Realizing I was on my own, I scrounged around in the garage and found a chisel, sanding pad, and a drill with a wire brush attachment. The plan was to scrape off the flaking paint, sand it a little, and then give it a fresh coat of paint - it should just take an hour, or so...right?  HA, Wrong!

After the boys and I were a quarter of the way (and several hours) into the paint scraping, I realized that this was a much bigger project than I had originally thought. It suddenly dawned on my why my husband was laughing.  But, quitting was totally out of the question. I might have to stay up half the night and suffer through blisters on my hands, but I was going to finish this darn thing.  (The good news: I didn't have to stay up half the night. The bad news: my hands were pretty torn up and blistered. No pain, no gain. Right?)

I decided that, in order to continue, the wagon would have to be taken apart (which turns out to be much easier said than done when it comes to dealing with rusty bolts).  I struggled for a while, but eventually claimed victory.

In the (late) afternoon my husband called to inquire about our progress, and I proudly reported that we were ready to paint. 

When he arrived home, and saw first hand just how much work we put into the project, he volunteered to do the painting and assembly.  I happily accepted the offer (honestly, my hands could not endure much more).

The boys picked the colors, and they are absolutely thrilled their shiny new ride.

Every time I look at the wagon I have to smile - I did it! I knew I could do it! Crafting is like childbirth sometimes - it can hurt like crazy in the moment, but you completely forget about the pain by the time the next project comes around!

FYI: My husband is a very supportive guy, but sometimes I think he breaks into nervous laughter in order to deal with my wild ideas and crafty ambitions.   Thanks Hun for (eventually) jumping on the wagon!!

Happy Crafting!