the color green, a huge mistake, and Wilson Phillips

This morning it rains and rains. It's gloomy in here, but outside the colors take on a lush saturation. The green grass is of the most velvety emerald. This makes me smile, partially because it reminds me of the conversation I had with Genevieve on the drive to work yesterday.

"Mommy, are there lots of colors of green?"

"Yes", I say emphatically, "so many colors of green!"

She continues, "grayish green, blackish green, yellowish green, dark green, bright green..."

And my heart if filled to pretty much bursting; the painter in me is reveling. As much as the know-it-all picture framer in me is cringing right now, as I remember what happened at the start of my workday.

I stand staring blankly. The frame doesn't fit the canvas. At all. I know immediately what I did wrong, a rookie mistake. My first impulse is to walk away. Tell no one. Let them deal with this later. I have no illusions that I will escape the blame, I just don't want to face it right now. My cheeks are hot. But I fight down the avoidance urge and force out the words.

"Tim, it doesn't fit."

He just looks at me, crestfallen. This was a big frame, over 3 feet by 4 feet. Yeah, I know. I am here to help. To save you time, not create more work for you or waste your money. I know, I know. I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. Shall I call the moulding company and order more? At least I can try to take steps to get us back on track. I am so embarrassed. So frustrated that my picture-frame-problem-solving-skills cannot fix this, but I simply can't magic up more length out of nowhere. Sigh.

I continued in my funk until Wilson Phillips came on the DMX and I just couldn't help myself singing along... I know that there is pain, but you hold on for one more day and you break free, break from the pain... hahaha, the very idea of Wilson Phillips cheering me up with their hair blowing in the wind and their dresses billowing sunnily on a hillside just cracked me up.

Of course I made another similar frame later in the day, and made it perfectly, and in the course of measuring for that one, I realized that the measurement on the invoice for the evil mistake frame was incorrect, and wouldn't have been right even if I had cut and joined it perfectly. So I changed the invoice and at least saved the wasting of the moulding for a second time. Still, I can't believe that I did that. I guess I had better forgive myself and move on. It's all vanity anyway.