Friday, June 22, 2007

My Favorite Duck


This is my favorite duck, rescued for two dollars from a garage sale many years ago.

When the time came to move the duck and the rest of our belongings into this house, we had spent a year with the contractor, drawing plans, moving doorways, picking out faucets and door knobs, choosing juteback or kangaback carpet. I was tired and overwhelmed by major remodeling in addition to homeschooling four girls and helping my husband strike out on his own in the farming world. We slapped white paint on nearly every wall: Git 'R Done and let's move in! That was nine years ago; Duck peeked out from the camouflage of my white walls all that time. I knew he was there, but few others did.

The duck looked over sofas and chairs handed down from relatives, snagged at sales, or dragged home from Goodwill. Finally, last fall, we blew it all up with dynamite and bought the first new furniture we've ever had. THIS celebration required a splash of paint! Duck came out of hiding, waddling through colors like Windmill, Summer Suede and Dark Ochre.

(Never mind that my daughters refer to the new walls as "light muck" and "dark muck". It's how farm girls are conditioned to think.)

Duck no longer swims on a sea of white. Sometimes, when the light is right, he takes flight across my new dark muck windowshade.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Duck needs a name! Or is 'duck' just sort of have a quaint feeling that we should keep...never knowing duck's name, never knowing how is personality is, never knowing what sort of ducks he likes to keep company with, but just letting him rest, and imagining his old life at the home of the garage sale.

Duck looks really nice with the shades, and I think that picture is great. Good job!

Rebecca said...

I like your colors! I don't care what the girls call them!