Wednesday, July 25, 2007

plus ca change

One of the things that has been holding us back from really embracing the idea of relocating (besides jobs, family stuff, and how much we love our house and hate how much work we'd have to do to get it on the market she said on day three of a five-day overambitious painting marathon), is our wonderful daycare. It's a ten-minute walk from our house, if that, and we love our daycare provider. We love the food she feeds, and the way she treats Swee'pea and the other kids, not to mention her flexibility that allows me to work more than three days some weeks or to switch my days around. She's wonderful, and we've been questioning the wisdom of possibly moving away from this amenable situation.

Well, yesterday our wonderful daycare provider told us that she's going back to school in September to pursue her dream of becoming a midwife (I told you she's perfect) and will no longer be providing daycare services. I am heartbroken.

I wonder if the universe is trying to tell us to move, if it's been forced to resort to a sledgehammer to dent our stubborn heads where gentle but persistent tapping would suffice.

And now there is this:

(Before -- note the pathetic taping job the previous owners did when they painted, carefully taping the wall instead of the ceiling. They even left the masking tape half-up. I swear I can still hear their "Doh!" echoing around the walls from when they started peeling it back. Even more pathetically, we left it up too, until just the other day.)

before 1

(After: notice how the colour almost matches the blind in the other room. No accident, I can assure you.)

after

How can I leave this gorgeous room?

On the plains of hesitation
Bleach the bones of countless
millions
Who at dawn sat down to rest
And died.*


* My coworker shared this with me today, something her dad used to say, although she hasn't been able to source it. When we googled the "plains of hesitation," we discovered several similar versions attributed to multiple and varied sources, but none of them quite as good as this one.

11 comments:

Christine said...

it really would be so hard to leave that room. we have a similar color in my study.

good luck with the day care--sounds like you'll be looking whether you stay or go.

dave cormier said...

it's gorgeous, the room and the pe-om on hesitation.

but the daycare provider turning midwife? my sympathies...though i hope it helps make the bigger decision easier, perhaps.

:)

MARY G said...

Gorgeous colour! Can't source your poem in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations -- Bartlett is presently pressing daisies, but when he is finished doing that I will ask him.
Daycare sources for Ottawa? I'm tracking my Vanier contact and will get back to you.

karengreeners said...

beautiful colour! but beautiful colours are portable. fabulous daycare providers are tougher to come by, aren't they. good luck with the tricky decisions.

S said...

That is a gorgeous color -- one of my favorites.

Yes, I might be inclined to take the timing of the day care situation as meaningful.

Which is not to say it is...

This was a helpful comment, wasn't it?

Anonymous said...

it is so pretty, enjoy it for as much as possible while you are staying put...

Mad said...

that is pretty much the same colour as my bedroom. I love the texture. Is it in the plaster or is it paintable wallpaper.

cinnamon gurl said...

I think it's paintable wallpaper. It was already there when we moved, already painted. I was planning to strip it because it's only on three walls, the fourth wall is a different kind of painted wallpaper not meant to be painted. But we did that in the living room two years ago and the walls were in terrible condition underneath. It's just too much work and too messy for right now.

Aliki2006 said...

I love the color!

Sometimes a change and a move can be a good thing, you know, if it WERE the case that the universe is trying to tell you something...!

I hope things work out--what a bummer about your daycare provider.

mamatulip said...

Oh, that's such a beautiful, rich colour. And it looks textured in the picture, is it? It looks very, very nice.

Run ANC said...

As you know, that IS the colour of my bedroom - so how could I not love it?? But you can paint the new house too.

I'm one of those people who would actually think the the care provider stopping in September IS a sign..