The Ikea Empowerment Zone

When Lisa departed, we lost the library table used to store homework supplies. Naturally, JT has been concerned about this change and so I have been in search of a replacement table. We all know that I am picky and so it's taken me a while to find just what I envisioned.

Thanks to KO, I had found a table that I liked. But I still thought I should make a trip to Ikea to see what they had. I have a good amount of Ikea furniture, most of it put together by Lisa, who was handy with that sort of thing. The construction was always tense, with plenty of yelling and multiple suggestions that I was useless. But in the end, new furniture was in place, so it was usually worth it.

My friend W had agreed to help with construction and that would surely mean less tension than before. So I set off to see what I could find. I got to Ikea just as the doors were opening. I looked about and there it was: the perfect table. Among its virtues were its height and color. I liked the shelf down below. But there weren't any in stock. The nice Ikea staff said no worries, I could have one of the floor models. Already put together and at a discount. Mama did a happy dance and loaded up her cart. And when I got home, my neighbor N was in his front yard and he volunteered to help me carry the table inside the house. The timing was perfect.

So now the table is in place and JT has no excuse for skipping homework. I will get the boy to help me clean out the baskets below. No doubt he'll love that. But most importantly I have completed yet another task that could have been sad but ended up making me feel happy and just a little more certain that I really can handle single mama-ness.