My weekend project was staining this rocker. (I say that like I have a project every weekend. Ha!) Six years ago when I left the office of Brian D. Basinger, D.D.S. to stay at home with Anna Kate, my boss and co-workers gave me this chair as a baby/going-away gift. It is very special to me for that reason and because, of course, it's where I rocked my girls when they were little. It was in the nursery with Anna Kate til she turned 2. Then, when she moved up, the rocker stayed put in the nursery for baby Elle to come along. But a few months ago, Elle's room got to be so full with toys and other junk that I decided it was time for the rocker to go. I could never really part with it, so I had to find another spot for it: the den. Not my choice of seating for that room, but we did need another chair in there so...I decided I'd stain it to better fit with the other furniture in there. I finally got around to it this weekend.It was an emotional thing to do, taking the rocker out of the "nursery." Cause you know what that sounds like: sounds like not having any more babies. Rafe and I are content. We feel complete with our two girls. So we're not wanting to have any more children. Still, it's sad to know there will probably never be anymore tiny feet like Noel's, or miniature fists clenched around my index finger, or sweet feedings in the middle of the night with that stare into your face that tells you no one will ever be more in love with you... But, with the ones God has given us, how could we ever ask or want for more? That's how I feel right now.
So, anyway. About this staining business, I have some words of advice: don't skimp on the preparation
process. I know, know, KNOW this, but I was really looking for a quick-fix, wanting to get away with not much effort. The rocker had never been stained, but did have a couple coats of polyurethane. But I found my lazy self barely sanding the thing, much less chemically stripping all the poly off, which I totally should have done. So with my fingers crossed, I went to work staining, somehow trusting it would work like it should, the chair magically absorbing the stain as if the wood were bare. Well, it didn't. I chose a stain called Rich Ebony, which I imagined would be very dark, almost black...like ebony or something. Instead, it ended up this chocolate color--not exactly what I wanted--but all in all, it's fine. Because it's still my special rocker.And now we have more space in Elle's room for big kid stuff. A good thing. But I will miss using my chair for its once intended purpose.
