A DIY Life

How novel...an entire show dedicated to teaching people how to "Do It Yourself." Come on people...do you really have to wait until you're given permission to attempt a project? I have lived a DIY lifestyle long before Home Depot decided to help us out...even before the Home & Garden Network decided to use only its initials. If I need something done...I do it...myself. Sometimes this involves lugging way-too-heavy pieces of furniture from one wall to the other. Other times it involves opening gates in the rain while wearing high heels, a dress, and a ruined hair-do. I've even been known to hoist an over-filled Rubbermaid container up into a loft using only my sheer will and determination. Somehow the job gets done.

Mostly these jobs get done when I am all alone and absolutely forced to proceed all by my lonesome. When my husband is nearby I can always ask for his help and the job will get done. But knowing that you can Do It Yourself helps take some of the fear out of life. Yes, it is much more enjoyable to work alongside someone, and yes, chores get accomplished more quickly and efficiently with several helping hands pitching in...but sometimes its nice to feel exertion pour from our own pores and actually feel the pounding of our own heart.

There are other DIY projects that don't necessarily involve pulled muscles, sweat, and physical exhaustion. Take pampering for instance. I have always applied my own makeup, styled my own hair, and painted my own fingernails and toenails. I have gone to the salon before thinking that I was missing out on all things 'girl' after continually receiving major eye-rolling and jaw-dropping looks whenever I admitted being a salon virgin. The visit only cost me time and money and I was never completely satisfied. Don't get me wrong...I love the ideal of getting pampered...it's just the constant upkeep and cost that baffles me and wears me out.

I suppose if you have the means by which to have others do things for you then go for it. But if you don't then don't sell yourself short...you can do it...yourself!