Holidays Bring The Family Closer Together

Last Sunday my brother, sister and I dove into a 3+ hour work party to get some things done around the house. My mom had left a list, and chief among the items included was a request to prepare the bathroom for painting. Tobin assumed responsibility for almost everything else on the list, so Kerri and I tackled this particular monster as a team.

Armed with buckets, TSP, gloves, scrub brushes, rags, bandannas/kerchiefs, coffee, and a Daft Punk CD, we were ready. First we cleared the room out. Wall hangings, decorations, and toiletries were removed unceremoniously. Then we brought in the ladder and step-stool and started scrubbing. The first 1.5 minutes weren't bad, then the suffering began.

With every scrub, pockets filled with every bad smell ever made in that bathroom were opened up. Scents burst out, creating ever bolder olfactory imprints - in our nasal passages and psyches. Flakes of moldy paint and sheet rock flew out and nestled on our faces, arms, mouths, and hair. A mixture of sweat and TSP solution pooled in elbow crooks and clavicles.

It was hot up near the ceiling, and Kerri remembers the ne'er before experienced sensation of sweat collecting under the bridge of her sunglasses (being used as protective eyewear). Getting the remaining strips of wallpaper loose wasn't very difficult, but despair set in when trying to completely eradicate remnants of mold. We got most of it off, but traces still remain. By the end we were listening to Moby's 'Natural Blues' over and over on repeat. (If you're not familiar with the song, check it out at some point.)

Even after we finished, the experience had so frayed our nerves that Kerri and I had a rare fight that left us not speaking to one another (for about 15 minutes). In the end, we survived and went on to enjoy a wonderful afternoon with some good family friends.

***Where Credit Is Due: Most of this was actually written, correction,
spoken by Kerri.***

Comments

Anonymous said…
Your description gives the impression that this was the bathroom that time forgot :-)

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