My husband bought me unfinished, Adirondack chairs the other day to paint and put in our front yard. They were the kind that came in a small box and you had to assemble, then paint before you could enjoy them.
He put them together set me up in the backyard with a tarp and an area to paint and a chair for him to watch me paint them! I love to paint. He knows that and was wonderful enough to buy me something and watch how I made them come alive with color.
I started with 2 coats of Killz primer. I was amazed at how much paint these chairs absorbed. No matter how much I put on, there were bare spots or streaks. Some of the wood was rougher than other spots and required more time and pushing harder on the brush to get the paint in all the little rough spots.
After the primer was on, I decided one chair was to be a navy blue base so I started in on the dark, rich paint, happily painting away. I had the chair positioned one way and would paint all of the areas that I could see that were exposed white primer. As the paint dried, I noticed streaks and areas where the blue wasn’t as covered as other areas. My husband would sit and gently remind me that I missed a spot here and there. Since he always has good intentions for me and such a source of strength for me I don’t take offense but instead look for his point of view to fix whatever it is.
Have you ever painted an Adirondack chair? There are many sides and slats and angles. When I thought the chair was painted in its regular position and had approval from my husband that I got all the spots, I turned it over and saw the ugly unpainted side still in its primer stage.
I got to thinking that many times we are viewing “Chairs” in life and we only see the one side’s angles and planes and think that we are totally “covered in our beliefs”, when in reality, if we reposition the chair or turn over the chair (or problem) we see a whole other side that hasn’t been brought to light.
It reminds me to be more graceful to other people and their opinions no matter how strong and bare (ugly) they may seem. I have to remind myself that they may be looking at the underside of the chair not realizing that the other side is totally painted.
What problem or opinion of someone else do you need to “turn over” to see the other side and then come along and help them finish the paint job?
