I get a notice on my door that says I have to remove some items from my balcony because it violates rules and regulations. I look outside to see what the problem could be. Everything out there has been there for several years. What could be the problem? I go to the administration office and ask questions. All I get is that it must be free and clear of clutter.

I go back out to my balcony and conclude it has to be the plywood panels I use to cover my sliding glass doors during hurricanes. I ponder how can I camouflage these giant panels of wood? They are an eyesore and are too big to keep inside or in my storage unit. What do I do?

After staring at the wall for quite some time, the light bulb turned on and I figured out what to do. “I will paint the wood panels!”

I ran to the hardware store, purchased painting products to prepare to paint. I am now ready to start painting this problematic wood. It took three coats to cover the front surface and edges of these panels.

Now I have these giant white panels of wood trying to avoid detection from the administration office. Even though these problematic items still protect my home, they are definitely ugly. The paint helped hide the problem. However, I sit and cross my fingers that this solution fools the rest of my community and not see that there is a pile of wood on my balcony. I hope they see a pretty freshly painted wall with few to no flaws.

I know deep down that no matter how much paint I use to cover up this problem, it is still there. I need to find a permanent solution. I know no matter how much I try to cover up my problem, eventually it will come back to haunt me. A temporary fix is sometimes necessary to go day by day. However, at some point I will need to face my problems to continue living in a progress. Not hiding my problems away.

By facing problems head on solutions present themselves. You learn your lessons and come out less stressed. By covering up problems you end up having to deal with the same issues over and over, not allowing for progress.