Friday, May 31, 2013

Impulsive or Not

I knew my first husband for only six months before we married, the last three months of which he lived in a town far enough away that we only saw each other a couple of times.  That marriage didn't work out.

I married for the second time to a man whom I'd known slightly under four months. That one didn't work out either, though it lasted twice as long as the first one did and was much better while it lasted.

Now that you know how impulsively I made marital decisions, would you be surprised to know that it's taken me seven years to decide whether or not to buy a specific shower curtain? I've never seen it in person, but online it looks like it would be a great match for my bathroom. I've viewed it online so many times that an ad for it now pops up on my screen at least daily, and almost every time it appears, I look at it again and consider buying it.

A couple of days ago I was searching in my "Miscellaneous" folder for a particular photo when I came across a picture of that same shower curtain, a picture I'd saved all the way back in 2006. Who takes that long to make a decision? If I liked it then, and if I still like it now, what's the problem?

The problem is the design on the shower curtain. It's one that people won't be neutral about. I happen to like it; others might hate it. So, once again, I weighed the pros and cons.

Here are things that have kept me from buying it:
1) The design features outhouses. Two big ones. I have to acknowledge that that's at least a little bit corny.
2) One of the outhouses is labeled "his," and there is no "his" in my house. That fact hasn't bothered me for years, but do I need a daily reminder of it?
3) The other outhouse, the one labeled "hers," looks red in a lot of photos, and red wouldn't go so well in my bathroom.
4) An outhouse design shouts country, and, if you don't count the quilt on the bed in my guest room, my decor is not country. I'd call it traditional with, perhaps, a nod toward rustic.
5) I have a perfectly good, plain, white shower curtain, so there's no need to spend money on a new one.

And here are the reasons to buy it:
1) The design features outhouses, yes, but it's also covered with grass and trees, which I love dearly. I'd like it better without the outhouses, but I can live with them to get the grass and trees.
2) I don't have a lot of company. If I like this shower curtain (I, who would have to live with it), why do I care so much that infrequent visitors might think it's silly?
3) In some photos the "red" outhouse appears to be a rusty brown. The other day I read a review in which a purchaser complained that she had bought this shower curtain and the "hers" outhouse was browner than it appeared in the photo. That's good, because my bathroom floor is also a rusty brown.
4) I've been leaning in this direction for a while. Last year I framed a few of my own photos and hung them in the bathroom -- photos that include three outhouses and a cistern.


5) I found a site where the outhouse shower curtain is on sale right now, more than $20 cheaper than I've ever seen it.

So I ordered it. After seven years, I'll finally get to see it up close. I figure the worst that can happen is that the colors will be wrong and I'll have to send it back. But I hope that doesn't happen.

It's kind of freeing to be such a risk-taker.

7 comments:

  1. I have my fingers crossed and am wishing you a brown outhouse. :) Love you!

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    1. Kim, that may be the strangest thing anyone has ever wished for me, but I appreciate your support. :)

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  2. LOL! As I was typing that I was thinking, "Well, there's one I've never wished for before."

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  3. I knew there was a reason I missed you for the last few months! It's your awesome sense of humour...who wonders whether a shower curtain is the right one for seven years! Our Linda does...you know, I have a plastic liner right now that came with the actual curtain. I have been thinking of getting a cloth liner. I think about it each time I stare at it, from my perch on the toilet, a few times a day.

    You have given me inspiration! If you can get yourself a shower curtain after thinking about it for so long, I can certainly get myself a liner! I don't think I can find one with an outhouse, but I like those...I grew up with one and have wonderful memories, haha!

    Have a great weekend! xx

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    1. Marion, it's so good to hear from you! The funny thing is I just bought a new liner, which is another thing that made me think about going ahead with the shower curtain purchase. It's such a hassle to change them I thought I might as well do both at one time. Now, get that liner while it's on your mind. You know you'll be glad you did. :)

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  4. Hoping it's to your liking! YOU live in your house... and it should be filled with things YOU love. Anyone else can go home to things of their liking!

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