I fell in love with a little table, but didn’t really know where I would put it or how it would be used. I followed my Farm Wife creed in asking myself both of those questions before I bought it. Since I didn’t have an answer, I passed it up.
At home, I was attacked by some dryer lint that had fallen on the floor, and a bunch of stuff that was stacked in the corner of my laundry room. As I pulled everything out to clean behind it, I knocked some of my supplies off the dryer – the only place I have to store them. Frustrated, I swept everything up and as I was turning to get the dust pan, I kicked several shoes off the rack, bumped into the freezer and sent the egg cartons stacked on top into a waterfall cascade. Thoroughly disgusted with the clutter, I leaned against the refrigerator we have back there, and muttered, “I need more storage space.” Time for the mental lightbulb…
It amazes me how much work a little pink table can generate. You would think something that small and inanimate would just sit back, mind its manners and be grateful I brought it to a nice home, but no. Once it was inside, it became very demanding.
I pulled the laundry basket out and set the table in place. Perfect fit. As I started to walk out of the room, I noticed that the little table didn’t look quite happy sitting next to a rack of old, dry-rotted rubber boots, or a rickety pressboard shoe rack. So I decided to thin those out. That wasn’t good enough. I could almost feel the table looking around at the rest of the room and wondering what it had done so badly in this world to end up stuck in a junky, spider-web filled room. Not wanting the little table to feel unappreciated, I decided to do a thorough cleaning.
It took several hours, a lot of muscle and three large trash bags, but I think the little table is much happier in its new home. Her feet are on a clean floor, with no signs of dryer lint or those socks that have been missing for months, or with six pairs of worn rubber boots.
I’m glad she’s happy now. But honestly, I didn’t realize that bringing in such a simple table was going to cost me so much time and labor. I just hope that little vintage telephone table I saw in the next booth over is a little more appreciative of being rescued.
