Ever get that feeling that your child takes everything for granted? Ever think to yourself that maybe they've become too spoiled? I have the solution for you! Seal off their room for approximately FIVE WEEKS (gosh has it been that long??) so that they don't have access to their normal toys, clothes, or even books for a while. After the five weeks is over, clean up their room, put things back in order and let them in. You will be amazed by their pure joy as they reenter the room that once held things that were "boring" or didn't have enough room for their stuff. Gasps of pleasure. Words like "wow" and "I love it" came out of her small mouth as she walked around her room as if for the first time. She would open a drawer she hasn't seen in over a month and say something like "oh here's that horse, I love that little guy". She was so excited to actually put the things that she's had in the guest room upstairs back where they belong. Funny how that works.
It's been a LONG five weeks. I mean, it's hard for a man who works long days (gone approximately 12 hours a day during the week) and has busy weekends to get projects like this done, but my husband has managed to patch the ceiling in Morgan's room where there was a leak from upstairs, scrape the popcorn ceiling, run a ceiling light, and texture and paint the ceiling. It's all done now, thank goodness. When he tore down the patch the first time, I was starting to get worried. He and I both discussed, with amusement, Morgan's diagrams of the work. She took a lot of time to draw each step of the process. First picture was of her room with the water stain on the ceiling. Next picture was of the ceiling with the hole. Next picture was of the ceiling with the patch. Next picture was of the ceiling with a hole. At the time, she still had another picture to do. You got it, one with another patch. Once she got them done, she taped them together and taped them on the outside of her door. According to her, it was to warn people about what they might encounter in the room. She also asked me to write the following on a post-it note, which we also taped to the outside of her bedroom door.
"Under Construction. Please do not enter."
Lance wasn't quite sure what to make of all of this, but it certainly didn't inspire confidence in him when it was time to go repatch. But, he was able to get it done to his liking the second time and then after a few false starts, was able to get the ceiling sanded, primed, and textured.
Today was the day of finishing touches. The light was installed, the walls were wiped down and paint touched up. The floor was mopped and remopped. Furniture was put back into place and pictures and stuff re-hung. Today was moving in day. And it felt so good. Not just for her, but also for me. I now have access to the 5 cubby hanger in her closet, that I use to divvy out her clothes for the week every Sunday. I'm able to put her crayons, markers, and folders back on her desk. The books she's had access to that have been strewn about the house for over a month now have found their home again.
I feel as though a part of my life that has been living in chaos is now straight again. It feels great! Long live finished projects!
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