I was laying on my bed in a 1909 Arts and Crafts "4 square" house that I had brought back to life and I was frustrated that my beautiful beaded pillows kept sliding off of my cedar blanket chest onto the floor. I looked at a cool print on the wall that was long and rectangular and I thought "wow, wouldn't that be cool if that folded down into a shelf to old my pillows. Yes, that is exactly how my brain works. Well this was not the time, place or anything of that nature.
Let's back up a sec...The year was 2001 and I had just finished restoring this house from a boarded up, condemned, 5 plex crack house in the historic district (Montford) in Asheville NC. I was a single mother of 2 teenagers and life was beyond insane. They were slightly out of control. I was a lumber "salesman" which meant that I drove a pick up truck to job sites everyday and hustled building materials of all types to builders. Oh, like that wasn't stressful. You don't know stress until you are a commission only salesperson and head of the household. I had made up my mind that I would not be able to give my kiddos the education and opportunities that I thought I should give them unless I had a side hustle which was remodeling houses and accumulating equity so that's what I was doing.
Meanwhile, back at the crazy house, I had married a man that really liked drugs. Yes, I mean he REALLY liked drugs. So here is was trying to stay sane and move on past that marriage, raise the "little ones" and make money. If my pillows fell on the floor, so be it. So that brain storm had to wait.
Follow me for more marital and parenting advice and I might tell you the rest of the story.