Earlier this year, we decided to paint the laundry room door a bright and cheerful yellow. Like most household projects, it ended up becoming way more complicated than originally anticipated. I sanded and scraped so much that my FitBit recognized it as outdoor cycling. Finally, on April 30, we installed the door and realized that it was (and had been) upside down. I texted a photo to a friend, requesting help coming up with a clever reason the yellow door was upside down. We threw out a few ideas, but nothing stuck. 'It will come to me eventually,' I thought.
Today I saw little Benny in the doorway and took a photo. I then remembered that the door was upside down, a thought that hadn't crossed my mind in a while. In that moment, I realized that, exactly a week after installing the door, we received Ramón's cancer diagnosis. With that, I present to you the meaning of the door...
Yellow represents optimism and joy, but in some instances caution. When something is referred to as upside down, it's typically associated with disorder. Despite its often happy, occasionally cautious, somewhat chaotic appearance, it's still a door. A door symbolizes an entrance, an opening, an opportunity. No matter what color you paint it or which direction you hang it, when there is a door, there is hope.
(Did I convince anyone it was intentional?!)