Suburban Shopping

If you walked through our house, you'd be hard-pressed to guess that we've lived here for 9+ years. Some rooms haven't yet been painted, others are unfurnished, and still others are functional but in need of sprucing up. It's not that we don't value beauty in our home, it's just that we've lacked the time, money, and focus. But we're trying to make a concerted effort here in 2009.

A prerequisite to such a thrust is the family run to the suburban Ikea and Lowes. We looked at benches for our backyard, argued over what style and size of sink would fit in our bathroom, and ate Swedish meatballs in the Ikea cafeteria. Meanwhile, Aaron and Jada frolicked up and down the aisles, jumped in and out of bathtubs, and generally caused me to panic whenever they turned a corner and threatened to knock over whole shelves of fragile display items.

All in all, it was stressful but fun, daunting but invigorating. I can see why we hadn't done much of this in the previous 9 years - easier to chill out on the sofa or scurry around the zoo, harder to think about color coordination and delivery options. But at the same time, we spend a lot of time at home, we plan to be here for awhile, and it's fun to imagine the possibilities. So let's hope this first foray leads to more progress on the home improvement front.