Trust the Girl to Decorate

I've never been the most trusting person in the world. In fact, I'm one of those casually-paranoid people who figures everyone's out to get her in one way or another. It takes me a long time to become friends with anybody. Most people find me stand-offish until they really get to know me. I do test the waters with new acquaintances. It takes time to trust.

So, now that you know something deeply personal about me, I'm going to switch gears--sort of--to talk about home decor. Yes, that's right, home decor with the armoires and the cushions and the HOYVIN-GLAVIN! (Sorry, just having a Professor Frink moment, there)

The very first time my girlfriend Sweet came to my apartment, she said (and I quote), "You know, if you moved the couch under the window and the TV unit against that wall, you could put your bookshelf over there and create a little reading nook with that chair."

And I said, "Uh-huh...yeah, thanks for the advice. Now shut up and kiss me!" (Okay, that one was not a direct quote. I don't remember what I said.)

I didn't think I'd end up taking Sweet's decor advice. It didn't sound like it was going to work. If I moved the couch under the window, it would block my heating vents. And put a bookcase in the middle of the room? The more I thought about it, the stupider her idea sounded. Want to know why?

Because I'm a person who sees only obstacles. That's it. My whole world is comprised of one obstacle after the next. That's not necessarily a bad thing...unless you couple my obstacle-seeing characteristic with my "screw that" tendency. It's fine if you see an obstacle and plan a way to overcome it. I don't do that. I see the obstacle and I say, "Screw that. It'll be too hard. It won't work. There's no point."

But now that I've realized these things about myself, I can work at improving. That's what life's all about, right? Learning and growing and improving. So I took Sweet's advice. I moved all my furniture around, adjusting for foreseen obstacles, and you know what? She was right! My living room looks amazing now.

Thus, we come full circle to trust. It is damn hard to trust people--for me. I don't know if it is for you. And trusting Sweet's home decor vision was akin to trusting her. In fact, it was a segment of trust, a little trust that makes up part of trust as a whole. The reason I didn't hop right to taking her advise about my living room was that I couldn't blindly trust that she knew what she was talking about. Seeing was believing, for me.

Now I'm filled with a sense of weathered awe as I see her vision fulfilled in my home. It makes me happy. It's like a piece of her mind is living in my...living room--hey, neat! I trust her decor sense. Next victim is the bedroom. She's got a vision for that as well.

Hugs,
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!