Words for My Enjoyment

I Am The Best Friend A Painter Could Ever Have

August 8th, 2007

I recently had painters at my house…painting.

Most people who have painters at their house often sidestep the painters. They may give them a quick glance as they walk past them or casually watch them from the doorjamb of the room they’re working on, but they rarely give them the time of day. Most people watch their overall-clad workers with suspicion and disdain, treating the normal everyday painter like a brush-wielding slave of home renovation.

But me? I am the best friend a painter could ever have.

A long time ago when I was in Florence, Italy I decided (while eating a pizza in an outdoor cafe and watching a mime teach a child how to do that ‘trapped in an invisible box’ thing) that I would change my life outlook forever. I wouldn’t just sit on the sidelines of life and keep myself separate from the world around me. I would stand up, dedicate myself to really living and become best friends with any painter who walked through my door.

Painters are people too, I said on that fateful day to my pizza-eating partner.

The journey to becoming a best friend to a painter isn’t as easy as going down to your local Home Depot and just picking one out at the outdoor hot dog cart. No, it’s not like becoming a parent or ordering a pint of beer at your local pub-ery. You have to get yourself an apartment or a house and then pick out a room that’s genuinely all-scraped up. You’ve got to pick out some paint you think would be just perfect to be slathered upon said walls. You’ve got to get recommendations from friends for a truly trustworthy, skilled artisan of the painting world.

And then…when all is in place? Only then are you go, no go, for best-friend launch.

On the first day, my goal is always to share something personal with my newfound painter friend. Perhaps a story about the time I got my foot caught in an escalator. Or the time I accidentally killed my hamster. Or about the time I tried to watch The Ring in the middle of the daylight hours (in an attempt to finally, actually watch it) and how I still found myself too scared to do it.

Showing your painter that you’re human (just like he is) will break the ice immediately.

From that point forward, you’ve established a true emotional connection with your painter, and before long the two of you will be laughing and crying tears over your friends, families and life goals that just never made it past the brainstorming stages. You will probably go buy lunch for your painters, offer them cold bottles of water, and potentially (if things are looking really good) — offer to let him park his big ugly truck in your driveway.

Sure, his truck will leak oil on your driveway…but you guys are best friends now so it doesn’t matter.

Being a best friend to a painter requires the kind of dedication any relationship does. Your painter wants to be complimented, he doesn’t want to have to ASK for compliments. So periodically walking into the room and nodding your head with a smile will always mean a lot to him. Your painter doesn’t want you to harp on his mistakes, again — like a relationship. Sure, those paint splatters on your drapes sure does feel like he cheated on you — but like all good psychologists and marriage counselors tell you — you’ve got to forget the mistakes, stop nagging your husband or wife about them, and focus on the positives.

Same goes for your painter.

Personally, and this isn’t an ego thing, but I really do think I am the best friend a painter could ever have. I am thoughtful, I am caring, I hurl compliments when I can… And above all, I’ve got my own pair of painter’s overalls.

Which I wear. Just to make my painter feel at home.

Best friends? You know it.

Posted under Best Friends, Home Improvement, Painters. |