Painting Finney

Painting the walls of the Library at Finney School was not at the top of my priority list. Cleaning the cobwebs from the shelves, putting the books in order, getting the online system back up and running - those are Library activities. But painting was almost the first thing the Library committee concerned themselves with.

I made them wade through the first two steps of my list before I entertained theirs, but if that's what it takes to engender enthusiasm and encourage the kids to come and read, then by all means, let's paint the room.

They told me someone had done research about the colors and I hoped we could reconnect with that selection process. Alas, we could not find out where the list was. So we experimented with warm inviting colors, coffee tones and rosy beiges that matched some of the carpeting.

After a bit of song and dance, we settled on pebble courtyard as our preferred hue, and set aside three weekends to get the work done. One to prep the room, one to paint, and one to put things back. The prep had gone well, and now we were ready to paint.

I thought we would need the whole day to apply the color, but with almost ten volunteers, it went fast. We rolled the new paint across the washed but dull and dingy walls, listening to music as we worked. Some preferred to do the more precise edging out around doorsills and window ledges. Some were taller and did the high areas, or bolder and willing to stand on the ladders to paint.

A few areas needed a second coat, and the trickiest part was a recessed ceiling area on the outside wall that was hard to get at. Well before noon we stood back and admired our work. The room did indeed look much better, much more inviting. We had even washed the grimy windows and removed the filthy shades to let in the light.

Yes, they were right. A fresh coat of paint was just the ticket. We pulled the doors shut to let the drying take place and went on to other Good Friday activities. Sometimes its good to experience a holy Friday that is not consumed with darkness and mourning. Sometimes it does your soul good to be immersed in warm color and a sense of a job well done.