Tuesday, December 20, 2022

'Twas six days before Christmas...

William has always slept over at our house on a regular basis. When he was small, he was afraid to sleep alone. Our house is big and he worried about fires and people coming to get him in the night. 

As he got older, the rollaway bed in the corner of our bedroom was done away with. We have plenty of bedrooms upstairs, but he wanted to be on the same floor as we were, so he slept on the couch in the living room. 

Upstairs, there is a guest room that is set up with Cara's bedroom furniture, a sturdy wooden loft bed, matching dresser and desk. William knows that is 'his' room. His 'cabinet of curiosities' is up there, an old ornate china closet. He goes up there sometimes, with his latest find to tuck in his cabinet, but he's not really much on spending any amount of time up there. 

Tim and I got to thinking that perhaps if we slept up there as well, he might be more comfortable. The room we moved into has a door between the two rooms if he needs us in a hurry. 

We tried it out, and it was successful, so today Tim and I decided to make over the room that would be his. It was just small things, really. His curtains are made out of the same material as his curtains at his house, for a touch of the familiar. Tim installed a gas heater in the fireplace to make the room nice and cozy. We mounted a large mirror above it. I set framed family pictures across the top of it, on top of his bookshelf, on his dresser. Cara had a shelf she hung on the wall beside her bed, We pulled that out and mounted it on the wall. We fit it with a reading light, and set up a charging station for his tablet and phone. We tossed a nice rug on the floor. I dusted and polished and vacuumed while Tim did his things. William had picked out a floor lamp the day before. We set it up along side the desk and Tim stocked the desk with a pack of printer paper and pencils and black ink pens. William likes to cartoon. 

I went through the book shelf removing all the books that were too young for him and pulled out some of young adult mysteries and fantasies that Cara had loved. We hung a ticking clock over the book shelf and set a chair beside it to hold his back pack. Tim hung the posters he had picked out. 

Most of the things were just moved from one place in the house to another, with a smattering of new things ~ posters, the lamp he picked out, things to stuff his desk drawers with. 

I picked him up from school today. He asked what Grandpa and I did that day. "Oh, we've been pretty busy," I said. 

When we got home, he started divesting himself of his things. "There's a new place for your backpack and your laptop case. Go upstairs and put in on the chair in your room." He looked confused. "I have a chair in my room?" But he went upstairs. Tim jumped right up to follow. So did I. 

He walked in the door and stopped right there. He said, "Wow." That's all. He walked into the middle of the room and stood there, holding his backpack and turned around slowly taking it all in. His grandfather had bought a magazine that he loved and set it on the tidy desk. He noticed that right away, when he turned on the floor lamp. "Thank you for the magazine." He looked at the Regulator on the wall. "I have my own clock." Tim showed him the charging station. He immediately took two books from his back pack and set them on that shelf by the bed. He switched on the reading light. "This is sure a bright light." 

These comments were all quietly said in a very matter of fact voice. He set his back pack and laptop on the chair, still quietly taking it all in. 

Suddenly, he threw out both arms and twirled in a circle in the middle of the room. "This is my new happy place!" he declared. "I love it!" 

And all three of us stood in that happy place, just being happy.


25 comments:

  1. That's nice of you and much appreciated by the sound of it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A wonderful gesture Debby. Happy William in his newfound bedroom.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A lovely story. William is a very lucky boy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You were very busy, but it was appreciated ! Lucky William. I hope that he will be very happy in his new room.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh that is wonderful to read. So heartening. Glad that he loves it so and knows he is cherished.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope the cat transition goes as successfully as William's transition!

    Back when we were looking for a house with one young daughter and another on the way, we found it nearly impossible to find a house with two bedrooms on the same floor as the master bedroom. Very few houses are built with young kids in mind. Fortunately we stumbled upon this one which does have two bedrooms and a master on the same floor and a fourth bedroom in the basement for the MIL.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful kid! I'd do that for him too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We all need a happy place, and a safe place to fall. William has found those.

    In my mind your home is a huge, old, rambling type of house that a grandma and grandpa would live in, with lots of rooms and nooks and crannies. A place of peace and love.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Perhaps William's heart and mind will rest a little easier and his life will be comforted by his very room of his own. Good that he is blessed with grandparents who care as much as you guys do and who understand his needs.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Isn't that sweet! I remember when our grandgirls slept upstairs in the double bed. Then, a queen blow up mattress in the basement. They are growing up!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a sweet story! Lots of love shining in that room!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is the sweetest! I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good story. sometimes we have to try and get what somebody else is thinking and take action. You did that well.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great Christmas present. I'm sure it took him a while to process it all!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a beautiful way to make him know that he is cherished and even better he understood the gesture.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a wonderful gift! Not just the room itself, but the love and compassion underlying the thought/work that went into creating what William has declared his happy place. Fingers crossed Houdini finds his way to William's bed. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  17. Damselfly put it perfectly. How lovely! Joan

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a lovely thought on so many levels. I imagine your house bursting with love. Even the cat knows.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh what a lovely story! I could just se you two getting the room ready.. what a sweet surprise for William!😍Thanks for sharing🤗

    ReplyDelete
  20. How thoughtful and what a wonderful surprise for William!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. William has a special set of grandparents to be able to gently "read his mind" for what would make him comfy. Very thoughtful! Linda in Kansas

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh my gosh, Debby... You guys are the BEST!

    ReplyDelete

I'm glad you're here!

Weary

I am sure that everyone has seen the video of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. I lived in Baltimore for a couple years while my...