There’s no painting over economic uncertainty

How do I know that the economy is still a bit shaky?

We (as in my wife and I) are painting the house again.

It’s been 10 years since we last painted and this will be our third go-around.

The first was a few years after moving in and was done to cover the cheap — and rapidly fading — stain used by our sainted builder, “Shortcut.”

That one was actually fun. Picking the paint, not having to caulk, scrape or sand. Able to ascend and descend ladders quickly. Going from morning until night without aches or pains. We got it done quickly.

The second time was 10 years later. By then, we had three kids. My wife was up to her ears in motherhood and I was often at sea. The last thing we wanted to do was paint the house, but it needed doing.

Again, we did it ourselves because we wanted to use the money we’d save for a vacation and, what the heck, we’d done it before.

That time it was work. Caulking needed to be replaced and there was a lot of scraping and sanding to be done. Too, we noticed that going up and down ladders brought on a lot of aches and pains that we didn’t remember from the first time.

Fast forward 10 more years.

Last summer, we noticed that the paint was getting a bit “sketchy,” but we were saved by the rain that appeared whenever we started thinking about painting. Too, we weren’t really ready either to do it or have it done.

The economy was in the tank. I was only a few months from retiring and there were better things to do. We decided to put it off until this year because we thought that, by now, things would be more settled. Our son and his wife would be gone. We’d have adjusted to retirement, our routines would be in place, and the economy would certainly be in better shape.

There’s a saying about best-laid plans that would fit well here. Anyway, the year passed and we knew that we couldn’t put it off any longer.

We talked with several friends who’d had their homes painted and got an idea of what it would cost. We then called around and had a few painting contractors come out to give us bids. The bids came in just about on the numbers we expected.

The problem was that, like everyone else (save members of Congress, whose collective motto is apparently: “Budget? Who needs a budget?”), we’re worried about the economy.

Gas prices are high and trips to the supermarket are getting scary. Anyone else notice how packages and cans seem to be getting smaller while prices are going higher? Nice try, guys, but we caught on quickly.

With all of that, we’re still on the good side of our budget, but, like many, we’ve also had a few major hiccups that have put a ding into our finances.

Still, the house needed painting and we decided, once again, to do it ourselves.

The good news is that, being retired, we have the rest of our lives to finish it. The bad news is that, this time, the aches and pains come from just thinking about it all.

Our goal is to finish by the end of June, then burn every sander, scraper, paintbrush, roller and tarp we own.

We would’ve liked to have called in a contractor but, spending several hundred dollars these days sure seems a lot better — and safer — than spending several thousand.

It’d be nice to believe that the folks in D.C. understand that, economically, things aren’t all sweetness and light out here and don’t seem to be getting better.

It’d be nice to believe that, to get fiscal matters under control, our “leaders” would forgo allegiance to party in favor of “the good of the nation.” That the posturing and chest-bumping would cease. That Democrats would acknowledge that we can’t keep borrowing and spending like there’s no tomorrow. That Republicans would understand that “No” can’t be the spring-loaded response to any and every thing proposed by the other side.

We’re not seeing it, though, and, so, the color we’ll be washing out of our hair each night for the next few weeks is something called “Blanket Brown.”

Lord, who comes up with these colors?

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@comcast.net.