Fix My Floors Contest Entries

Approximately 2 months ago, a local flooring store ran an ad regarding the North American Fix My Floors contest. If, in 300 words or less and a photo, I could prove that my house was most in need of new floors, I could win 5000 dollars worth of flooring. 5000 dollars worth of flooring could go a long way to replacing the fraying indoor/outdoor carpeting that spans my downstairs entry hall, stairs, and upstairs hallway and bath. It would go a long way to replacing the hideous linoleum that was laid over the original hardwood flooring. It would go a long way to replacing the wide plank flooring in Lu's room that looks as if a set of power tools enjoyed a night of drunken debacle.  5000 dollars worth of flooring would not only greatly improve the aesthetics of my charming, yet outdated home, it would aid in our efforts to restore this historic gem of a house to its original condition. All this and more, I detailed in my entry; our need, the historic value of the house, the unique location and significance of our village. I also included a photo of the floor in Lu's room chopped to bits and painted in the shape of an oval, what was the previous owner's throw rug. Upon entry completion, the Fix My Floor contest web site invited me to review other contestant entries. I was ecstatic! I could actually size up my competition. Assess whether we had a fighting chance. It only took reading three or four other entries for my jaw to hang limp in disbelief. I felt like I was living an episode of Extreme Home Makeover. Most of these entries had less to do with the poor shape of the contestants flooring and more to do with the hardships and failures that had befallen these people. One woman wrote about the 10,000 dollars she and her new husband had to spend on litigation fees in an attempt to maintain custody of her daughter from her ex-husband. Another wrote about his son and the seizures he began experiencing shortly after the contestant and his wife moved into their house. One wanted new flooring for her mother who was in a wheelchair. Others had animals who had torn up their existing flooring and wanted to replace it (apparently, so their animals could destroy $5000 worth of new flooring too). Another had fallen (ironically enough tripping on a bubble in her existing linoleum) broken an arm, and required several surgeries. Seriously? I thought this was a flooring contest, not a sob story contest. Not only can I not compete with such entries, but would absolutely refuse to do so. I refuse to play the victim for monetary gain and have little respect for individuals who choose to do so. Thus, I sit here staring at the frayed edges of my ugly brown indoor/outdoor carpet and think, "Well, I have lived with it for the past year, what is another year or two?"