Thursday, July 10, 2008

When Little Things Become Uber-Things

One thing I've noticed with pregnancy is the tendency to give uber-attention to things that do not really warrant uber-attention. Discussions about which infant carseat to register for, a change in the time we go to the beach, and Pizza Hut losing my pineapple pizza order have become blow-ups rivaling that of Mt. St. Helens.

As Kevin and I prepare to close on our home in Michigan, we have been discussing many potential improvements. I have become obsesssed new carpet--through the whole house. The current carpet is a neutral color and of high quality, but it is just not the color I prefer. For the last few weeks, I have not been able to stomach living in a house with this carpet. So the quest for new carpet began.

When I had a carpet installer come to the house yesterday to give me an estimate, he mentioned that the current carpet is a thick-pile wool, with 1/2 inch pad. It is definitely nicer than the lower-end nylon carpet I would use to replace it.

A short litany of questions my sister, a penny pincher at heart, used to recite while shopping at the mall when we were kids started to stream through my consciousness:

Do you need it?
Do you want it?
Is it really worth the price?

The catch with my sister's buyer's quiz is if you answer the majority of the questions with "no," then you shouldn't make the purchase. Alas, this was definitely a "majority no" situation. After tearily confirming the results of Beth's Buyer's Quiz with Kevin, my pregnant brain was finally able to let go of the new carpet in favor of a deep cleaning of the current carpet as well as other necessary improvements. Miracles do happen.

1 comment:

Reenie said...

I think that is a very wise and rational decision. Besides, kid, dog, visitors, etc will wear down the carpet and someday you'll need to do something different anyway, why not wait till it's necessary?

that was my same response when i moved into my house and there was white carpet in the living room- I wanted it out immediately, but good sense won over. and sure enough, 2.5 years later it HAD to go... and now I really need to get around to refinishing the hardwood floors... ah the endless projects.