What I learned from Laminate.

How do you know you have a good relationship with your spouse?
Is it that you never argue or disagree?
You can finish each other's sentence's perhaps?
He always gives you the last piece of chocolate?
No, if you really want to know if you were each other's perfect other half do remodeling work together.
It can be anything...painting, wallpapering, laying sod or in our case this weekend we laid laminate flooring in our dining room and kitchen.
This was a no joke job. It was neither easy or quick!
I'm going to bullet point my list of "bothers". Here we go:

• I can't stand dirt, dust, crud...anything littering my floors
• My ears can't take high pitched grinding sounds
• shop vacs DO NOT work like my Dyson
• I like, scratch that, I NEED to say things like "Be careful with that saw." "You need to go slowly." "Gentle. GENTLE!" "Oh for the love of chocolate let me do IT!"
• I am a PERFECTIONIST
• I need to match things
• NO I can't just leave the mess until we are done. (sawdust)
• Measuring three times and still getting it wrong. (I was not cutting)

I'm sure if I turned this blog over to Rob he could come up with his own list, but he's not much for blogging and the time it would take him to chicken peck his answers would drive me insane.

Back to me.

I commented on the way in which he was going to start using his saw. Seriously, this is the guy that just last summer fell getting a hose and popped his elbow out of joint requiring a five hour hospital visit. This is the guy that fell down stairs and rug burned his face! This is a guy that EVERY TIME he works on the car gets gashes on his hands from jerking and jamming parts. Okay, I have cause for concern here. He was using our child's wood chair to set the piece on, bending over and that saw was darn close to his leg. YES it had a guard but again this is Rob we're talking about. I casually and gently said "Please don't saw off your leg."

He turned and looked at me. Then I think I may have heard a hiss...he said "Do you think I don't know that? It really bugs me that you think I'm some kind of idiot!"

I sat there a moment. Okay, maybe I did sound like a mother just then. I continued to look at him giving permission to get it all out. He hissy-fitted for another few minutes. When he was done I suggested not using the chair so it would be easy for him. I totally could have lost it, I mean you've heard how accident prone he is, I've witnessed it first hand. I can not help that I am careful and think about the what ifs so I can be safe. I held it together and just kept to me job. I was a floor laying champ, seriously, I got the touch, until it came to going around the cupboards and appliances, It took 3 hours to finish the dining room, which is bigger then the kitchen. It has taken 11 1/2 so far today, and he's still up there getting the last three pieces in.

We still have to do the molding...which will surly not get done tonight.

I will post pictures when it's FINISHED.

So what I learned from laminate is:

Rob and I ARE a good team. He needs to learn to listen and follow my directions and I need to let him make a mess and not follow behind him with the vacuum, because that drives him nuts.

I will need a lengthy hot bath and back rub.

It feels REALLY good to have accomplished something together that did not require a miracle or the hand of God. Not that his hands weren't on us, or should I say over our mouths.