I didn't actually cry myself to sleep last night. I wanted to, very badly. But before I let it happen I remembered that I am 266 days pregnant and that bursting into tears was likely an exaggerated response to a relatively minor difference of opinion. Later came silent anxiety over why we were having a difference of opinion about paint color, and why we can't come up with a name other than Caboose, and whether such matters reveal any serious flaws in our spousal communication. Later still came actual sleep. Resolution on paint color is pending. Resolution on Caboose's name is also pending, presumably, although I think it may not come up again until we're on our way to the hospital.
The painter is coming on Monday at 8:30 a.m. to paint the living room/office and the playroom. This deadline means that yesterday I finally pulled out the paint samples I bought two weeks ago and put brushstrokes up on the walls. When Rob got home last night, I had four options on the walls: City Loft, Wall Street (both chosen, I believe, because as a native New Yorker the names subconsciously appeal to me), Antique Red, and Perfect Greige. I had almost settled on Perfect Greige for the office and perhaps even for the wall above the chair rail in the playroom, because Perfect Greige is everything it sounds like. Wall Street, which was my favorite paint swatch, proved way too dark for either a playroom or a largish office that is poorly lit and spends most of bathed in outside shade. City Loft, as it turns out, is an okay, not overly stunning white. Antique Red looks lovely on the swatch but looks more like Cherry Red on the wall.
Rob's assessment: Perfect Greige is too light and somewhat bland. Wall Street is perfect - dark and rich, just like the olive green walls he's loved so well in his upstairs office (which, come to think of it, were the subject of my last near-meltdown). City Loft is an okay white. Antique Red looks lovely on the swatch but looks more like Cherry Red on the wall. Writing this in the light of day I now see that we actually agreed on 50 percent of the paint colors! Glass at least half full! But last night, I agonized over his dislike of Perfect Greige. I thought about how many paint colors we have already in this house, and how I really would prefer navy blue cupboards in my kitchen but I can't have them because the walls are green (and also because we're not remodeling the kitchen right now and, come to think of it, if we were, repainting the walls would be a mere drop in the money pit). I thought about how dark and gloomy the office would look painted in Wall Street, how it would clash with the black piano and dark wood end tables. This is the part where we said goodnight and I rolled over and decided not to cry myself to sleep.
Today I went back to the paint store for more samples: Spaulding Gray and Storm Cloud. Spaulding Gray is just a shade darker than Perfect Greige. Storm Cloud is a shade lighter than Wall Street. I want to name paint colors for a living, because I really think that Wall Street looks more like a storm cloud and Storm Cloud is much cheerier than the name suggests. I asked the paint store employees what white I should use, and they suggested either Snowbound or Pure White, since those tend to be the most popular. There are precious few opportunities in this world to safely follow the crowd; why not take advantage of the places where we can? Do you think we will raise our social standing if we have Pure White below the chair rail rather than City Loft? I'm likely to veto Snowbound, because I hate snow and I'm afraid it might be a bad winter omen to put something on my walls that is named after winter storms. Why I am not similarly vetoing Storm Cloud is not rational, but then again, women who have been pregnant for 266 days are not known for their detached, rational opinions and decisions.
After carefully examining today's paint colors, Rob offered the following: "I love you more than paint colors. Please choose what will make you happy." And so I sat, indecisive, for several minutes before deciding that I'll make this decision in the morning. In the meantime, I think our spousal communication is in pretty decent shape after all.
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