The last remaining vestiges of the great family room flood are gone. Forty or so square feet of carpet and padding is gone. In it’s place rests brand new, self adhesive, square, fake ceramic, laminate tile. Yes, it is everything it sounds like and more. No, there is no danger of my becoming the spokesperson for Armstrong laminate tile.

In a move that was designed solely to shock my wife, I finished the flooring and did our taxes in a single afternoon. Cheryl’s faith in the natural order of things has been shattered. My only mistake was in showing just what I am capable of doing in a single afternoon. That kind of information should be held back in the even of an emergency. You can’t put that genie back in the bottle. Expectations are a heavy burden, and I’ve unwittingly upped the ante.

What a fool I’ve been.