Several weeks ago my counselor challenged me to put a date on the calendar.  Our house is pale and uncolored except for our fabulous mural.  I’m bored with the lack of color.  Last spring I finally bought drapes that I like.  But I don’t want to put them up until we paint.  So my counselor made me put a date on the calendar by which we would have painted the livingroom.  That date is rapidly approaching.

The date is Sunday.

Tonight we bought paint.

We are painting the livingroom “cherry cobbler” and “home song” (which is a very pale jade green).  I’ve had chips on the wall for months.  But I didn’t like any of those.  So we ditched them.  And made completely different decisions in a matter of 5 minutes.  Those sorts of decisions frighten me.  But I always end up liking them.  Even though they make me uncomfortable the whole time I’m executing them.  I will spend the next whole amount of time that we are painting the livingroom finding reasons that this is not going to work.  When I sense that it will.

So, I’m steppin’ out of my comfort zone.

As we were leaving I saw a scene at Home Depot that was out of my comfort zone.  A young man and woman were entering the store as we were headed for the checkout.  I did a double-take.  The man was carrying a pink and purple tote bag over his shoulder that cradled a chiuaua.

So, I’m sort of morally opposed to carting animals around in purses to begin with.  I’m not sure why.  But there’s something wrong with containing an animal in a purse and carting it around like a toy.  I know the people who do this would likely insist that they do it because they love their animal and do not want to be separated from it.  But I dunno … it seems like they are turning the animal into something it sort of isn’t.

I have to admit, though, I’m really struggling with the visual of a man carting around a small dog in a pink and purple purse.   It was a clearly feminine dog in a clearly feminine container carried in a feminine manner by a man in a male environment.  So, if I’m wanting to break down role barriers for myself, why did this bug me?