Today, I ordered the kitchen for my new place. IKEA it is. I’ve been running around furniture stores, compared prices on the internet, and talked stuff through with friends over and over. Now, finally, the decision is made and the order has been placed. That’s a relief. I’m prone to Decision Fatigue. In the last days, I’d rather have stayed in bed than faced all the decisions required when furnishing a kitchen: color, size, price? Handles, appliances, countertop? Delivery or pick-up? IKEA, Kika, Mömax?
Im’s grateful to have friends to talk kitchen talk with. Friends who come with me to IKEA and give me plush toys to get me through the day. Architect friends.
Plush Dachshund from Becky 🙂
And, equally important, I’m grateful to have a Poodle who’ll join me on Mömax, Leiner and IKEA trips. A Poodle who’ll enjoy the smell and wander through the corridors like they’ve been created just for her to sniff and explore. A Poodle who’ll settle down and chill when I sit and ask questions or try and plan a kitchen at one of these IKEA terminals with a very nice guy called Harald.
Today, having Phoebe with me kept me calm when I might have gotten annoyed at the eternity it takes to walk through a furniture store. You know, all these arrows on the floor you’re supposed to follow, forcing you to walk the most time-consuming and tiring serpentines? It gave me something to focus on when waiting for my turn at the information desk (reinforce default downs, pet/treat, play LAT). It made me look at the little things (like plush crocodiles and white pillows and piles of 40-euro-carpets), one little thing at a time, rather than getting overwhelmed by all the colors and choices. It made me walk more slowly, and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells with Phoebe. I waited for her to finish checking out the stuff she wanted to check out. I asked her to jump up on piles of carpets rather than getting lost in the self-service area. She was such a patient companion today, and she made me smile and made me proud. There’s no such thing as emotional support animals in Austria, but if there were, she’d be mine.
