The New TV

Um, did my room just get smaller?

I clearly have a spacial problem.

Fourteen years ago, when I was pregnant with Grace and building another bedroom onto the house, I looked at the original floor plans and indicated to the architect the rough size I wanted the new room to be.  I was basically choosing the size of another bedroom we currently had.  It was a nice size, all the furniture fit and there was room to move around and play on the floor.  Fairly standard.

When the contractor came to stake out the space before laying a foundation, I stood in the center of the roped off area and felt as if I was in a closet.  The contractor assured me that is was, in fact, what I had requested and was, in fact, the same dimensions of the bedroom I requested it match.  I knew my contractor was both smart and trustworthy but it looked so small.  I just couldn't imagine how a crib, a dresser, and a "Diaper Genie" could fit where I was standing.  Let alone a rocking chair.  So right then and there I told him to make it bigger.  By about about forty percent.  

The walls went up, the carpet was laid, and we painted.  Then we started moving the furniture in.  I needed more furniture.  A lot more.  Grace's room was a football field.  

I had a similar experience today.  I was at Sears, looking at new flat screens to replace a TV that has needed to be replaced for a while - and in time for Super Bowl.  There I was, wandering the aisles of uncountable LCD and plasma screens, passing up the screens that were clearly too small and looking for sales.  Finally a sales person came to help me and I told him the size I was looking for.  Roughly the size of our current flat screen - what I believed to be 42".  He showed me to the aisle that had 42" screens.  Clearly I had it wrong.  Our screen was not nearly as small as what he was showing me.  We must have a 50" screen.  I told him so.  We moved to a new aisle.  This seemed about right.  He pointed me to a screen that was on-sale and it was 52".  Two inches bigger than what we currently have.  Bob would like that and it was affordable.  I purchased it.   It took about 15 minutes to get it in the car.

That should have been a big clue.

Getting out of the car proved impossible.  We had to cut through the box and pull it out.  Once we got it into the house and brought it to the credenza that still held our other TV, I gasped.  We did have a 42" screen after all and it was plenty big enough.

I now have a room that is all about a television.  Even Grace remarked: "was that really necessary?"  Of course Bob is delirious.

I'm wondering if there is any relation to the great chasm between the size on the labels of my clothing and the size I see in the mirror.

I'm guessing I should start trusting the labels.