Don't cry over spilt...paint.

In a cupboard in our laundry I keep a bag of old clothes to use as rags. Today I needed one of those rags and as I grabbed hold of the bag's handles I came away with something I hadn't quite bargained for...a dull thump. And with the realisation of what the thump was caused by, a painful screech emanated from my throat. Looking down I saw an ever expanding, viscous puddle of paint. Yes, paint. In our laundry. MY laundry! The girth of this shiny, terracotta puddle was fingering its way to the nearby white fridge and had already seeped under the cupboard in which the bucket of paint had been stored.

I certainly was in no state of mind to take a photo of the disaster immediately, but this is how it looked after about 15 minutes of dabbing and wiping:

Initially I grabbed the closest thing next to me (no, not the bag of rags!), but a pair of my husband's navy trousers which had needed a zipper replaced. I also managed to get my hands on some paper towelettes, which proved quite handy. A sponge and a bucket of water came next. What I am amazed at (and rather bemused!) is that it did not even occur to me to use the bag of rags at any time during the clean-up!

Hubby's trousers:
Newly moist towelettes:

Watered down paint and sponge:

As I write this the paint continues to seep (as I almost weep!):

For about a month now I have been trying to think of something in me, in my reaction to an event, that would demonstrate an ability to stay calm. In my mind this would be a small (very small) indication that I may be suited to Clinical Psychology. This is a career path that has been weighing on my mind more and more lately. I was first introduced to psychology in my PhD studies when I analysed asthmatics' perception of their own asthma. But I really hadn't given it much thought until I started working from home, which has been very slow since November 2008 (thank you Global Credit Crisis). Thinking about how I can extend myself academically to increase my skills whilst still looking after my family, a change in career path came to mind.

With this mini disaster, in amongst all of the paint, ruined trousers and my terracotta-stained fingerprints all throughout the laundry, I was trying to think of some positives, even a single positive. I actually came up with four:

1) I hated those navy trousers anyway, especially because the zipper needed replacement.
2) The colour of the tiles and paint are almost identical.
3) I was calm enough (in the end anyway) to take some photos.
4) And most importantly, I did not go off at my husband for placing the paint tin there in the first place...at all. Disaster truly averted!

Do you think the ability to view this situation the way I did, in some way indicates that I am suited for a career in clinical psychology?

And yes, it did not escape me that a possible explanation for my being so calm (nothing to do with my career prospects of course!) was because I used hubby's trousers to clean up the huge mess. Oh, the psychology of marriage!