I made the first purchase on my own - kinda

Hardwood Floors!!

Eric and I had been talking about buying hardwood flooring for the dining room and the little dog pee room (otherwise known as the living room/piano room).

Eric takes.....

(as if you're not aware, I keep writing takes instead of took  (present tense when speaking about Eric as opposed to past tense)  

.....a looooooonnnnnnggggggg time to make a decision.

It could take us 2 or 3 months to pull the plug on whether or not we buy a new printer.   One year B.E. (before Eric) I would want it - see it - buy it.   Eric once saved one whole year to buy a table that was custom made for him and the exact height of his legs.

ONE WHOLE YEAR?

Do you know how long one year is?  Based on the Broadway Show Rent,  I think it's One Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred OR 125,600 minutes.  I have never waited one year to have anything.   That's not exactly an accurate statement.  When we decided to have another baby, 9 years after our last babies were born, it took us from conception to delivery almost 15 months.  There was a miscarriage we suffered July 1, 2008 and then a beautiful baby was born almost two years later to on July 8, 2010.  An amazingly awful time and amazingly wonderful time all happened in 13 months.  


The first loft I bought was the first and only one I looked at.  I put an offer in on the loft BEFORE looking at it.  This loft was in Chicago and it was Unit 901.  Eric happened to own Unit 907.  


Eric was not my type at all.  We are total opposites:

• He reserved - me make reservations.  
• He has savings - I spent it.  
• He laughs only when it's really funny - I laughed not as much as I wanted to when we were together.  
• He was making a nice living & I was making a nice living - ten years later he made a great living - I made great kids.  
• He liked to eat - I liked to indulge - he then liked to indulge.  
• I gambled and knew I'd lose and I wouldn't be upset - we both were upset after losing.  
• He passive - me aggressive.  (Alyce, Eric would say, that guy Bob really pissed me off - can you call him tomorrow and handle it?)   
• He swept issues under the rug so much it looked like a mountain - I bulldozed through that same mountain.

So many things about us said...

ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?

...this ain't gonna work.  Frankly, we thought it wasn't gonna work either. Not once,  but twice we thought, can we?  It turned out yes we can.  Two totally different world mesh.  Most things meshed except for the in-laws and his fear that everyone around you could be an out-law ( I wasn't afraid like that).

BACK TO THE POINT OF THIS WHOLE THING......

Today, yes today, I decided to buy those hard floors.  Just so happened my neighbor, who will appreciate being unnamed brought me Starbucks today.  I didn't beg - she seemed happy to do it.  Turns out her brother installs flooring.  Sent him a text - he was over in a flash.  We picked out the flooring (nah I don't need to see it.  I can make this decision on my own AND quickly).  Expedited shipping to get the materials faster.  'We could be done by this weekend,' he said.  I thought, "not quickly enough."

I go out for a little while - parent pick up at school - drop one off at home - appointment for the big girl - grocery shopping with my Dad - pick up girl go home.   Big day out for me.

Three hours after DECIDING on the flooring, (no name), comes back to my house to solidify everything.  Gave a fair price and I was ready to......

...Do Nothing!

I could not make this decision without doing due diligence like Eric would have done.  What the hell am I taking about?  It's now 3 weeks 5  days A.E. (after Eric) and I can make this decision really damn quickly.  I don't have to discuss, and re-discuss or gather a consensus, I could just decide!  This is fabulously perfect.  I actually bragged to the women I now at the kids school that I was buying flooring because "I could."


Perfect plan, except Eric ingrained in me that I must do what's best for the family.  Is it best to take the first offer without knowing how much something should be?  No. 

A year will not go buy before I make a decision "on my own" about this flooring.  


More than 9 1/2 hours has passed since I first decided I had to have the flooring and I had to have it NOW.  More than 9 1/2 hours later I am so glad Eric talked some sense into me and I'm giving it some thought.

Thank you for the mentoring.

I love you,

Alyce