I have a back door. I realize most people have a back door, but I have a back DOOR. This is news. Before today I had a back piece-of-crap-door that could not be locked from the outside. As a result, I had to walk all the way from the front door, around the side of the house and to the backyard to get to the garage, tramping a path through the already sad grass. This trek was occasionally made even more convenient by things such as rain or darkness (you couldn't see if there were roaches in the grass) or having to carry a little person the whole time. No more! Now I can just go out the back door and take the sidewalk to the garage. It's spectacular! It's fabulous! It's convenient!
It poses a unique set of problems.
Well, not problems, per se. Issues? Yes, issues of convenience and style. Up till now, stuff central has been in the living room, where the front door is. You know what I mean by "stuff central"--the place you dump your stuff when you walk in the door. Keys, shoes, jackets, mail, backpacks, children. Now stuff central needs to be relocated to the back door(!). My husband and I have different ideas about what this means. Home decor is not necessarily one of his...um...strengths? Concerns? He just doesn't care all that much. Which is a pretty good deal most of the time, because I can decorate the way I want. Sometimes though, such as in the case of the back door, a piece of furniture will end up serving a purpose just because it's convenient. He doesn't care if it's fugly. And oversized. And needs to leave the house. It works, and we have it.
I totally understand where he's coming from. He's a very practical man, and I love this about him. He is the pioneer of what he calls "Maddox ingenuity", and this is a good thing, most of the time. This is not one of those times. I want pretty furniture to catch our stuff, not old dressers missing a drawer. Or, if it can't be pretty furniture, I at least don't want it to be big, broken furniture that was on its way out of the house until it got promoted to stuff catcher. So, my project for the afternoon is to find another stuff catcher. One that's functional and already resides in our house. One that we can agree on. One that is worthy to live next to the spectacular, fabulous, convenient back door.
3 comments:
Ooh goody, I love these kinds of projects. Let me know what gets chosen. :-)
Ah, the stuff catcher. Yes, our kitchen table became our stuff catcher shortly after we brought it home. I fear it will never be used as a real table, where you can actually sit down and eat :(
Oh well. Every household has to have a stuff catcher. I suppose we can sacrifice the convenience of having a kitchen table for the cause.
Of course, she declines to mention that they have a dining room table which does in fact get used as a table. ;)
PS--I just have to say that I really admired your writing in this entry! I want your gift!
Post a Comment