The Wall Paper Saga

My mom came to visit us this weekend.  We were sitting around Sunday afternoon, looking for something to do, and she asked if I had any projects I wanted done.  I thought a minute and said, "Well, I have been wanting to take the wall paper border down in the kitchen..."  and we were off!  We applied wall paper remover, let it set for the allotted amount of time, and went to work taking border down.  The first layer came off easily, but it left a layer of white paper stuck to the wall.  So, we applied more remover and waited again.  Then we started taking the second layer of border off.  Seems simple enough, right?  Should have only taken a couple hours at most, right?  Ha.  That white paper came off in tiny, miserable, knuckle-scraping, fingernail-breaking pieces.  UGH.

Under all that paper that we so painstakingly scraped and peeled, was PASTE.  It was not. going. to. budge.  We tried applying more wall paper border remover, letting it soak and washing the paste off.  Nope.  Tried scraping.  Nothing.  Borrowed different products that had worked for friends.  Nada.  We were getting desperate.  Discouraged.  And to top it all off, the product we had used to take the paper off the walls...that unnamed product that boasts right on the bottle that it is NON-STAINING?  Left BLUE all over the walls.  fhgjkeidiclsadkfijfhenfkkuyroijn!!!!!!

After brainstorming a while, we decided it would be best to call a wall paper store to see what they recommended.  So, I called the nearest Sherwin-Williams and sought advice.  The service guy kindly recommended a magic solution they sell in their store.  Guess what?  Already tried it...it. didn't. work!  He told us if none of the products we had tried were working, our only option was to rent a wall paper steamer, get the paste nice and hot and pliable again, and scrape it off.  He even recommended a place we could go to rent one.  Hurray!  Our troubles were about to be solved.

We rented the steamer and hurried home, excited to have a *magic fix* for our problem.  Put the boys down for their naps and plugged the steamer in.  Let it warm up.  Got all excited when it started chugging and making gurgling noises.  Can you guess what happened next?  LOL.  Yup, you guessed it.  When the steamer was hot and ready to go...water started dripping trickling pouring out of the steamer!  And steam?  What steam?!?!  A small amount of steam squeaked out the end of the hose.  But, we decided to persevere and try it anyway.  After about 5 minutes of holding that hose up to the wall, we knew it was no use.  So, we unplugged the steamer and went to work scrubbing the walls with a simple solution of dish soap and hot water.  For HOURS.  Time-consuming, but it worked.  There is still a lot of paste on the walls, but if I continue to plug away at it a little each day, it WILL come off. 

So, what is the lesson in all this?  I think God used this experience to teach us we do NOT have control of our circumstances.  To let go, turn everything over to him.  No matter what we think WE can do, he is the one in control.  We need to slow down, be patient, wait for him.  Listen for him.  And relax and pray when things don't go our way.  I know these things, in the back of my mind, but I NEED these reminders!

Despite some frustrations, we had a fun weekend.  We got to do some shopping, play games, eat yummy food, catch up and just hang out.  Plus, we got to bond over wall paper.  Hehe.  Thanks, Mom, for all your help and hard work!  We love you so much and had a wonderful time!  And I am already planning our next household project bonding experience!  :-D