Paint night is all the rage.
While I have never been (after two failed attempts to go), I have seen many invites across my social media and email in box.
Women everywhere are excited to go and relax in a local pub, have a few beverages and to paint like Picasso. It seems like the perfect girls’ night out yet it fills me with fear as I have never been able to draw or paint anything artistic my entire life. Also, the subjects that are being painted rarely excite me so I have been willing in the past with a prejudice towards painting over my awful creation after a night out with the girls.
I propose a paint night at my house.
Snacks will be provided as well as plenty of wine once we have prepped and painted my guest bathroom (the next project I am working on).
Nobody needs to get dressed up and make up is not required. We will wear our comfy clothes and laugh and, well…paint! Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It sure does to me as I will get my bathroom painted in one short evening and get to spend time with people that I love.
This is the year to pull up our bootstraps and to tighten our suspenders if we are going to make it through. Incomes are down and prices are rising, interest rates are slowly creeping up and the cost of a tank of fuel is bordering on frightening.
It is the time to get by with a little help from our friends and to be bold and humble in asking for help. We all have a handful of wonderful people in our lives and it is time to start to trust that people have our best interests at heart. Let’s all give of our times and talents to make peoples lives a little easier.
Offer to baby (or dog) sit for someone you know may be over burdened with young children so they can get some errands done.
Trade them for some baking or homemade soup for a company potluck or for some other service you may need help.
My circle of friends and I have joked for years about living in a community where one does the cleaning and one does cooking and so forth – right down to the child bearing!
Although living together is not practical and not really appealing, the thought of having someone to help shoulder the load is very interesting so why not employ this with your closest friends?
From decorating to discovering who has what you need and asking for their help, you can create a functional and fun community around you of people who fit your needs like a puzzle piece (and vice versa).
There is nothing more satisfying than working collectively with one another to help with costs or chores along the way. With that community-minded message being thrown at you; who is coming to my paint night? You won’t walk away with your own canvas but will have the satisfaction of helping out and the glow of a really good girls’ night.
Kim Wyse is a Central Alberta designer. Find her on facebook at ‘Ask a Designer/Ask a Realtor’.
