To Be or Not to Be…

Can you tell that my students are in the thick of studying Shakespeare (although Hamlet isn’t part of our junior high curriculum)?  Let me just say that my college classes on Shakespeare do not hold a candle to watching 7th graders perform The Comedy of Errors.  If laughter is the best medicine, than I should be the healthiest teacher alive right now. 

Anyway, this post is one where I think through life’s deep questions aloud…deep questions like whether I’ll “be or not.”  Now when you hear what I’m pondering, you might think that “deep” is far too dramatic of an adjective to use when one is referring to home staging jitters.  That’s right.  Today I was asked to stage another house!  More details on that in a minute.  The point is…I get nervous!  I wonder if I’ll freeze and have no decorating ideas.  More than that, I get nervous telling other people what they need to change about their home.  I mean, our homes are nothing if not personal—we live in them!  In reality, I’m often afraid to use the gifts and passions that God has given me.  When it boils right down to it, I will never be more ready to do this than now!  I just need to plunge in and allow myself the awkward mistakes that come with new territory.  The feeling of taking a step in the darkness when you’re not sure what lies ahead.  The battle for making time to do one more thing.  The willingness to fail and never be called again.  And yes, some called me a drama queen when I was younger, although I like to think that I’ve outgrown it…hmm.  Well, you see what I’m saying.  Doing new things is hard.  It’s exciting, too, but sometimes you have to plow through the hard and the murky in order to get to the exciting. 

The house I’ll be staging this time around is actually a townhouse, and it’s in a completely different area of town from the previous home I staged, which was literally three doors down from us.  The owners are also currently living in the home, so instead of starting with a blank slate, I’ll help them pare down, rearrange, and add items where necessary.  This means I have to be honest, yet tactful.  Although I’m good at speaking my mind when it comes to my own home, it’s a whole ‘nother ball game when you’re working with strangers.  To top it all off, the realtor I’m working with—bless his heart—wants this finished by early next week.  While that is totally doable and probably somewhat typical in the staging world, it feels like a close deadline for a planner like me.  “They” say flexibility is key though, so here goes nothing.

I’ve never considered myself too much of a dreamer, as I tend to be a realist who often sees things in black or white.  And yet this feels sort of a like a dream that’s beginning to take shape.  I really have no qualifications, but someone is giving me a chance to do something I love—and to top it off, I now have a more flexible teaching schedule that allows me to do it!  Who knows what will come of it—maybe nothing.  But it’s go time.  And I mean that quite literally, as there is a lot to be done in order to get this house ship shape by early next week!  I’ll let ya know how it goes.

Oh, and since I’ve just been rambling, here’s a photo of the tulips my boy sweetly gave me for Valentine’s Day.

I am smitten—and I love that he picks out all different types of flowers, as I’m not one to be suckered in by roses (although I definitely appreciate them on occasion—it’s just nice to mix it up).  Aren’t they cute in the oversized julep cup I found for a few bucks at a thrift store?  For the record, we were pretty low key on V-Day.  I made red velvet crepes for dinner and then we went to see the silent film, The Artist.  Has anyone else seen it?  We really liked it, even though I think one silent film a year is enough for me.  What did you all do for Valentine’s Day?  Is anyone else facing the “to be or not be” challenge?  Has anyone taken a plunge recently?  Was it refreshing?  I hope so.