Home Depot Trip and a Toilet Seat Later

By: Carolina Pichardo

“I need a new toilet seat,” she yelled out from the hallway. “How on earth does someone break a toilet seat?,” I said. She simply yelled back, “It happens when they’re cheap!” It was probably fifth to hundredth time she’d told me this already, but then again – that’s just my mother.

Whether it’s complaining about her commute from home, the cashier that didn’t give her the right change, or getting her pocket-picked while holding the door for her pocket-picker, she’s just as random as they come. So are her stories, which always begin with the purposeful: “You would never believe what happened today…”

This was all I could think about during our holiday shopping trip to Home Depot: the toilet seat.

Although to this day only a few bits and pieces of that toilet story has emerged, it’s the pieces that demonstrate how dedicated my mother is to her home. She’s the fixer and do-it-yourself type. Recently, she put up a series of shelves in her kitchen. That, among her tailored couches and carpeted the floors, are the projects that keep her going. Heck, she was the one who placed that lopsided toilet seat too.

“Maybe we could get her a new lamp too,” my daughter’s father – Luis – said. I knew he was thinking about the last time he visited and she was doing a balancing act on a wobbly, wooden chair to change the light bulb in the hallway.

I nodded and said, “How about your sister… Did she ever replace that iron?” Luis laughed. My sister-in-law managed to break the tip of her iron. Don’t ask us how. Apparently, she was in a rush ironing, dashed off to get something and the iron just toppled over. We have yet to hear of an iron that breaks from a fall, but the broken tip to this one sealed her story.

“Who else?” he asked.

This led us to think about other pieces of stories from loved ones, which only came alive as we walked down the Home Depot aisles. Like our daughter’s biggest wish for a new bedroom makeover. “We could start it now,” I said. “But really with the pink and orange thing she wants,” Luis said half-convinced. “Let’s start with something pinkish,” I responded while picking up the Behr Premium Plus’ eggshell sample. There were also the poinsettias for my aunt. She didn’t have room for a tree in her tiny, one-bedroom apartment, but wanted something extremely festive nonetheless. “Something colorful or made out of pine,” she said, waving her hands and arms before her. “Poinsettias for Tia will do,” I said and picked up the brightest set on the plant stand.

Aisle by aisle, with some stories here and there, our shopping list was complete.

Learn more about our shopping trip experience + other fellow bloggers on Twitter with #FiestasHomeDepo.

Now It’s Your Turn to Win: Home Depot is offering you a chance to win a $50 Home Depot Gift Card for all your holiday needs and stories too!

Please visit www.homedepot.com/holiday and comment on our post with something you learned on their site. There are more than 1,500 products online, including 1,000 items that are only available online. For more, be sure to follow The Home Depot on Twitter @HomeDepot and Facebook.com/homedepot.

Giveaway is only open to U.S. entries only and must 18 years + up. Ends 12/11 at 11:59pm EST.

Disclosure: This is part of a compensated campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and The Home Depot. The Home Depot works with bloggers such as myself to conduct product reviews. They do not tell bloggers what to say about their products or how to say it. The Home Depot fundamentally believes that people should be free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot often provides product – free of charge – to bloggers for review as they did for this post. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. The Home Depot provided me with a gift card to shop for the holidays and post my experience. All opinions expressed in this article are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone.