My Mother Helps

I like to involve my mom in projects because I think she enjoys them.  Honestly.  It also gets her out of the house and she admits to liking that.

I asked her to join me this week in helping me to paint.  I have included some Pearl (her name) stories below. 

"Pauline, why are you painting your house.  Don't they have people who will do that?  I will pay for it if you want."

Really, mom?  Fine time to tell me!  We've already started and now you say you will pay to have some other schmuck do the work?  Thanks!

I think she thought it would be inexpensive.  When I told her how much it would cost, she changed her mind.  She did help and she did have fun.  She also later admitted that painting the house isn't so bad at all.

She did have some rules:

1. She will not climb ladders nor will she climb scaffolding.
2. She brings her own step ladder.  I guess my ladders don't cut it.  This also violates rule number one above.  Not sure how to explain that.
3. She brings her own paint brushes (She did use mine when I told her we have about 1.4 million of them and that she shouldn't get her brushes dirty.)
4. She comes with her own putty knife to help scrap because...I am not sure why.  More on scrapping later.....
5. In an effort to keep her hand clean, she discovered that she can paint with a Ziploc-type baggie on her hand.

That hand with the baggie on it was spic and span at the end of the job.  Her other hand, her arm, her leg, her shorts and her shirt, not so much.  And that poor baggie was full of Cooper Molera Fandango Red.  But that hand, pristine!

After the first day, yesterday, she told me to call her to let her know when to come over.  She would continue to help.

I called last night to tell her that we wouldn't be working today since it rained last night and we didn't get a chance to work on the top half of the back side.

"I will be over at 8 a.m."

Mom, we don't have anything to paint.

"We can scrape the house.  If you don't keep working, you will stop working and not start again.  You have to keep going."

I have to add here that I am trying to be methodical about this project.  I want to work on one side before going to another.  Not sure why.  It's a thing I have.  Mom would just as soon have us working on everything all at once.

Hell, if she wants to help, I will not tell her no.

"I'll see you at 8 a.m."

Morning arrives and mom has decided that she will scrape until she is sick of it and then will paint the shutters even though we are painting the shutters black and she hates the color black.  I told her I would paint the trim on the side we worked on yesterday.  Trim work is tedious and takes time.

About two minutes after she started scraping, she was finished.

"I don't like scraping."

Okay.

I told her that she had to scrape the shutters, which she did (not much scraping to do).  Then we washed the shutters.

Then she complained that I needed to spray paint the shutters because of the slats and that she couldn't paint because it would be a pain in the ass.

"Well, I'm going home."

It was about 9/9:30. 

"Okay, mom, thanks!"

"Call me when you having painting to do."

Will do.

We didn't need a baggie today.