w o r k s & d a y s * * where do we come from?

It's funny to watch my parents when something goes wrong. If it's something big, my mom tends to give up right away and collapse with her head in her hands, saying, "This is horrible!" My dad stays calm under pressure and is able to see how serious something really is, and even if it is serious, he stays calm to see a way out.

But if the situation is mostly positive, my mom is fine, but my dad will see every little thing wrong. We could be having a picnic on a sunny day by a lake, and my mom would be having a great time, while my dad would find every fault with the situation. Or my brother will get his report card, and my mother will be happy about the five A's while my dad will concentrate on the one B.

I think I must have inherited my dad's ability to stay calm when things go wrong, and my mother's ability to gloss over small negative things when everything is mostly good.

I used to wonder how the spawn of a pessimist and a worrier could end up like me, but now I see I got the optimist buried in each of them.

I am finally painting the actual colors on the room, after endless sanding, filling holes, more sanding, several coats of primer, etc. The colors I chose last week looked strange at first but I still like them. I'll have to take pictures because it's too annoying to describe them -- a pale yellow, a tan/brown/gold, and a red/orange. The carpet is a deep blue/purple

My dad appreciates good design when he sees it but is, according to him, unable to produce it himself. He thinks I have a natural talent with color, and so uses my opinion about color whenever he can. He said, "See, I never could have thought of this." I looked at the walls and said, "Well, you really just need to think of a concept." In this case the concept was "illuminated manuscript / manilla envelope mail art", but no one needs to know that. Much better to just look at the walls.