Why I'm Loving Not Loving My Floors

Before we moved into this house we built a different house.  There were many things about the house we built that were not as nice as this house; size, location, and size of rooms being three that come to mind right away.  But there were also things that were so much nicer about the house that we built; some just by virtue of it being new.  It had lovely newly painted walls, it had nice wood floors, and it was close to church. 

Years have passed, and I love my home now.  The walls (as you can see in the picture) are no longer strange shades of turquoise and the brown floral wallpaper is a distant memory.  The carpet (which deteriorated remarkably fast once 6 kids moved in!) has been replaced.  We love our neighborhood and it's pool and are mostly reconciled to the distance from church.

From time to time, though, when I visit a home with beautiful wood floors, I mourn again that loss.

My home has wood parquet floors.  They are made of alternating squares, each made of 7 strips of wood.  Parquet must have been trendy 30 years ago; our other house in Durham had parquet in the entry.  I'm sure the original builders of this house thought that they were so upscale with their parquet in the entry, kitchen, and breakfast area.  They would probably have been shocked (and perhaps a little offended) to know how much I would not love their floors many years later.

But there are benefits to not loving my floors.  If I had beautiful floors like my friends, I would need to be careful with them.  I would want to protect them...from the wild creatures that are my children.  If I had beautiful floors I would be upset when my husband dropped the bread maker, creating a triangular crater.  I would freak out when my toddlers played spaceship with tipped over bar chairs, leaving long scratches under the chairs.  And I most certainly would not have let anyone learn to ride a ripstick on a beautiful floor, much less 5 children.

Jared decided a month or so ago that he wanted to buy himself a ripstick.  After doing some research on Amazon and persuading me that I should pay 1/3 plus half of the shipping, he started doing jobs around the house for me to earn extra money.  Last week he had finally accumulated his 2/3 of the purchase price and we ordered the ripstick.  It arrived on Tuesday and he has been on it for hours every day.  After the first day Rachel decided that she wanted to learn too and she brought Josh's ripstick in.  Since then there has usually been a child or two rolling from the front door into the kitchen, around the island, and back out to the front door.  I'm always amazed at how quickly they pick it up and how excited they are about it.  Except for the times when someone runs into me, it's great fun.

Just think of what I'd be missing out on if I had beautiful floors!