I never would have expected that in my life I would think so much about floors. At some point, something ignited within me that now causes me to examine the floors inside practically every building I enter and compare them against the floors in my own home. Most of my floors are pine, and I like them well enough, but I am jealous of beautiful old maple boards. Pine is a softwood, so they scratch and scuff easily, though it doesn't bother me too much. I try to find the silver linings, like how they pop and creak in places when I walk on them—I honestly love that they have that rustic charm. They certainly aren't perfect; nails pop out in places and the boards are further apart than I'd like, allowing for dirt and dog hair to get into all of the seams (but of course not far enough apart for the vacuum to fit into!) Still, they've held up fairly well over the years and make sense in my little house.

Other rooms in my house have carpet, which has always been my least favorite of all flooring options, but I'm too afraid to pull it up and find a big project hiding underneath. That's what happened to my sister, recently, as she and her husband just bought a house that had lots of carpet throughout. It was discovered that hardwood floors existed under almost every carpet, but once the carpets came up, their original excitement was followed up with a lot of dread as they realized the floors were in tough shape underneath. They found a lot of nails and staples stuck in the floors. I think this would feel like less of a major issue if they didn't also have a two-year-old who loves to be into everything and run around barefoot. In that moment of discovery, my hatred of carpet softened, and as a quick fix, we went out and had a piece of carpet cut to fit my nephew's room until they decide what to do with their floors.

Although they are a bit inconvenient for the time being, the floors in my sister's house have a ton of potential to become beautiful; they just need a little more elbow grease and effort. Luckily, there are a few local folks who refinish hardwood floors, so I think they will be able to hire someone to fully restore them to their original beauty and be able to ditch the carpets and throw rugs for good in the coming weeks. Then, we can all take turns chasing after my nephew as he freely runs barefoot without a worry across all of the finished floors. Honestly, I cannot wait for that.

Paige O. Roberts has a degree in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Henniker Review, Sidereal Magazine, Rejection Letters, and Cypress. She has been nominated for a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize. She lives in northern New Hampshire, where she owns and operates a pet boutique called Tailswag.