Painting I find, is generally one of those things you either love to do or despise.

At least that’s the feedback I get whenever I mention the topic.  Most, I’m fairly certain, lean toward despise.  I don’t know… what do you think?

I don’t mind it.  In fact, I miss it .. as my house-sitting and apartment dwelling over the past year means I no longer have sprucing up of my own to do.  It’s good exercise and typically it means some area of a home or building has gotten one of the most inexpensive face-lifts available.

So we were fired up about today.  Because the Cowboy will tell you, his cute little house needs some sprucing up.

He’s also been waiting to do anything on the house now for close to a year.  The Cowboy wasn’t a.) sure he wanted to keep the house in the divorce and b.) that the ex would ever turn over the paperwork so that he could refinance.

We decided that no matter which it turns out to be, a sale and/or staying .. the place needs a fresh coat of paint.

Why paint you ask?

Well, there were nail holes everywhere.  The previous paint job was also a bit rough and the colors were incredibly dark .. way too dark for a small little house with not enough windows.   Every room was that way.  So the task before us wasn’t and still isn’t for the faint at heart.

But perhaps even more pressing as to why we needed to paint:  they were colors the ‘ex’ had picked out and gone with years ago.

And the Cowboy, thankfully, is doing all he can to remove any of the bad energy, or .. juju as my girlfriends and I like to call it, left lurking in corners from a tough marriage and divorce.

Now that may sound ridiculous to some of you .. but others, you out there know exactly  what I’m talking about.  Moving on in the same place can be tough.  Bad energy can linger in a space after something so devastating as a divorce.  Don’t get me wrong, some reminders are things to cherish.  Others we just need to move past.

So today, we painted.

And we will again tomorrow as the everything from the few rooms still needing it, stays heaped on the futon.

Now, if you’re thinking ‘Is this girl serious?’ ..

I’m not sure I’m giving you the best resources here.  But there are a ton of articles/opinions available on the topic of clearing negative energy.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2165074_clear-negative-energy.html

Listen.  All I know is, if I had known then what I know now, I would have sold my home and just about all furniture acquired with my own ex, shortly after finalizing our divorce.  No matter how much I tried to paint over the past, smudge or make new memories say .. having friends/family for dinner and serving them off the sideboard he and I bought when we first moved into our old home .. hoping to give the sideboard new meaning and memories .. four years post our divorce it still reminded me of him every morning as I walked by on my way out the door.  Ridiculous?  Maybe.  But can’t change what it was.  Only when I sold any of it/gave it away/let it go including the house, did I feel free from a past that perpetuated heartache.

I think it might be a woman thing more than a guy thing, to hold onto all that.  But some of us do.  Everything in this life, I believe, carries energy.  I like to keep the good energy around.  Where it doesn’t exist, I believe is opportunity to create.

In my humble opinion, the Cowboy deserves to get back even a smidge of the great energy he shares with the world each day.

So we’ll keep painting ..  It looks great so far.  Only 4 more rooms to go.

“What am I doing,” he said to me at one point, sitting on the floor, painting along the trim and trying not to get it on the baseboard.   “I don’t paint.”

We laughed.. and both took another sip of beer.

Today was the first time the Cowboy has ever painted anything.  Well, other than in maybe art class.  He was never allowed in the past because .. well, because he might not do it right.

Job report:  There were a few spots we’ll have to hit again.  But .. all joking aside, he did great.

And, we had a great time.

Today’s project has already spurred conversation about what other improvement projects will be fun to do together.  And as he stood in the kitchen, one of the only rooms we truly finished today, he said time and again, “I really like it.  I can’t believe how much better it feels in here.”

Its amazing what a can of paint (and some willing hands) can do.