Rugs…who needs them?!

  I dreamt of having large beautiful rugs in my home – the plush, light-coloured ones that make a room look open and warm…sitting or lying on a thick rug with fluffy pillows, and reading a book.  But, with a black and white (and used-to-be brown) dog who is non-hypoallergenic, I have settled for small rugs at entries and exits to wipe our feet on, and which all can be put in the washer and dryer.  Then, we moved, and my dream came true…for a while.

At the time of our last move, we no longer had to worry about spills by our small child, leaks from her body, or marker marks from her colouring off pages.  The dog too was older, no longer running in mud, and was calmer.  It was time to try a real rug.  I furnished our sitting room with an off-white shag rug.  It reminded me of the ‘70s (except it was only on the floor, not the walls).  It was luxurious.  It was so clean.  It was so soft.  Until…it wasn’t.  The child wasn’t leaking anymore, but the dog started to at times.  The dog was less active, but that meant she lay on the road or sidewalk, or in the dirt more often.  The rug developed a grey hue where the dog slept on it…the same spot every day…multiple times a day.  The hue deepened into a stain.  The stain darkened.  Then, a yellow spot appeared near the stain…and wouldn’t entirely come out.  Then, another yellow spot.  Paul, the carpet cleaner, used his fancy orange products, but even he could not keep up with the grey, the dark grey, and the yellow….  So, there shall not be any more large light lush rugs, and I’m back to dreaming.