Stuck on Stain

 Recently I purchased a dusty orange ottoman from a thrift store.  It was in mint condition except for a wobbly leg that likely kept buyers at bay.  My husband tightened the screw on the loose leg and the stool is absolutely perfect.  An absolutely amazing find for $1.99!

There's a slight problem, though.  Because of its light color, I worry about it staining.  We had previously purchased some stain repellent spray for other furniture and applied it to this piece as well.  Nonetheless, I continue to worry about the ottoman getting stained.  At times, due to the lighting, an odd shadow will fall on it that mimics the appearance of a stain from afar.  I walk over to it, inspect the area, and to my surprise find the fabric in just the condition we purchased it--pristine.  But this scenario has played out multiple times with me being duped on each occasion into thinking that something has stained my precious piece of furniture.

This obsession, my fixation on the ottoman getting stained, makes me think about other areas in my life where I tend to be anxious.  Whether it is nagging my kids, strong-arming my way through a situation I was told to wait on, or doing something that's really someone else's responsibility because I want to make sure it gets done, I can easily get wander past my own borders.  In the case of my ottoman, it is the stain protector's job to protect the furniture.  My responsibility is to let it do it's job, live life, and stop worry about whether or not the dang thing is stained.  The same is true for the rest of my life.  There are protections in place for worrisome situations and (thankfully!) most of them do not depend upon my oversight.  I need to let these systems do the job they were created to do and stop checking in on whether or not they are working like they should.

And, if I'm doing this right, all that's left to do is kick my feet up on my orange ottoman and chillax.