If I listed all the improvements I've noticed in my work-life balance since I sold Tremont Paint in October of 2019, you might think that I never enjoyed being a paint dealer.
Which I think I've shown, I did.
Still, it’s hard not to notice certain improvements in my my work/life since I scrubbed the last drops of colorant out from under my fingernails.
At the top of the "most improved" list is my daily commute. The often 90-minute odyssey to the Bronx each day, replaced with a 20-pace shuffle from bed to desk.
The proximity and privacy also saving me the trouble of changing out of my pajamas.
After a newfound ability to bill an hour while wearing last night’s clothes, the next biggest upgrade in my post-dealer life has been the increased restorative qualities of my vacations.
Unlike my father, who worked 50-weeks per-year for most of his career, I was more generous wife myself when scheduling vacation time. As a dealer I would typically take five-six weeks off each year.
But that time away from the stores often failed to have the restorative affects I hoped for from vacations. Concerns for the stores operations in my absence often adding rather than reducing it as intended.
But during the weeks between selling Tremont Paint in October of 2019 and commencing my employment with Benjamin Moore CEO Dan Calkins that November, I took the first truly restorative vacation of my career.
That absence of work commitments allowing a level of chill I never experienced as an independent paint dealer.
With the epiphany of what vacation could be I promise myself that at-least once each year, I would clear my schedule of work for two-weeks, and recreate the vibe of my pre-#Dan adventure.
An adventure through parts of Spain and THE British Isles were the backdrop for this summer’s yearly gift-to-self. A phone-off sojourn with nothing on my calendar but the attention of my fianceéic Gaetana.
Guy for short.
Instead, a series of unfortunate events has me traveling alone, my far-better half left in Stamford. The last-minute change necessitated by a refrain common in our demographic; the need to care for an aging parent.
And with THE Buck and another familiy already enroute to meet us, cancellation would have made a difficult choice.
Not that continuing alone on a journey we planned to share, made for an easy one.
Buck of course, is my 24-year-old daughter Miranda. The monicker an homage to her time at THE Ohio State.
And while I’ll relish each moment with my globe trotting progeny, it’s doesn't feel like a vacation with more than 3,000 miles between me and my chosen travel partner.
We Swiped Right
I met Guy in early November of 2012; Match.com handling the introductions.
It would be December 23rd of that year that we took our first picture as a couple. An event at New York’s Madison Square Garden providing the backdrop.
Listen to Your Mother
Bobbie Lipton will tell you that life’s paths are best walked as a pair. Her message, throughout my life; be in a relationship!
As a young paint dealer having just moved back to New York for the job, it was my mother who took responsibility for introducing to prospective dates. Mostly the daughters of their Westchester County country club friends.
If you think online dating is bad? By the time I was an adult after a divorce, I was glad to trust the Match.com algorithm, thinking it gave me better odds while also avoiding going back to the country club daughters.
Match.com’s string of numbers still matching after a decade.
By the time if our third date I was beginning to notice that I felt differently in the presence of this person.
And that I liked the differences I felt.
And the occasional paint blog!
Muse Inspired
I was part of the decision which created this outcome, off to Europe without my love.
Of course, I’m looking forward to time with my daughter and my international friends, infrequently seen.
But my heart is in Stamford.
While its no vacation without Guy, writing about her is never work. I’m taking next week off as well which means I won’t be writing about paint.
But I’ll be writing.
If you're here just for the paint news, I appreciate you and I'll be back to it after next Monday. I'll also have a new podcast about the troubles at Sherwin-Williams!
