When I was a kid, my parents re-did our basement. I was going to get a new room. Not just any room, but a brand-new, never-been-lived-in room. And I got to make it my own, because my dad told me I could pick out all the colors. Any colors I wanted.
ANY colors
I wanted. It meant the world to me. I felt like such a grown-up (I was probably somewhere between eight and ten years old). But I also felt special. This room was MINE! As one of five kids, we shared a lot of things, all the time, and we didn't always get what we wanted. How unfair, right? Well, my dad was true to his word and he let me pick out the colors. Brave man. To this day, when I see those colors together I think of him and what it meant to me that he would encourage me to be myself. It makes me miss him, but it also brings warmth, because he loved me. A lot. You'd have to, to paint a room these colors...
I'm not even sure where these pajamas came from, but they are the exact colors I chose. The walls were pink with the turqoise trim. My mom even sewed some curtains to match. They were turqoise with a pink ruffle-I can see them so clearly in my mind. I loved them! I loved that room. Consequently, I love these pajamas, and the darling girl inside them. And when she wears them, it creates a link to my dad, who has never met her and I smile. However, I'm not sure I could bring myself to paint another room like it. So, when I told Chase that he could pick out the colors for his room, I was a little scared. Okay, terrified. What if he picked something hideous and I had to live with it! At first, he was asking if he could paint dragons and other creatures and things on his walls. Nope. He could pick two colors, one for the walls and one for the ceiling. Before we left to buy paint, he was telling me that he wanted blue and green. Blue for the sky, green for the grass. I tried not to panic as I imagined what his room could turn into and simply smiled and said, "We'll see what we can find." Upon reaching Jerry's, we proceeded to the paint department and began looking through samples. We'd brought Corbin along so that he could feel as if he were a part of the process, and I'll admit, because I figured that I could manipulate Corbin into helping Chase pick colors I liked. A dangerous gamble, I know. While Chase and I were sorting through colors, Corbin began dancing, and then yelling that he had to poop. I convinced Chase to take him to the bathroom while I frantically looked through blues and greens, trying to find some that I could live with. I found two sets, a blue/green and a blue/blue. I figured I could tell Chase that the blue/blue could be ocean and sky and that the color of his carpet was like sand. Chase couldn't decide between the two, so I asked him if he would mind if Corbin had a say. Chase, the sweetest boy ever, said yes and Corbin liked the blue/blue. Chase fully agreed and so we got our paint! It wasn't until we were at the checkout that we realized the reason Corbin chose the blue/blue was because there was a car in the picture on the sample card. It took a lot of convincing before he was willing to leave the store without that yellow car. And I am now on the lookout for a little yellow VW bug that I can get Corbin for his birthday. But I digress. Over the next few days, we started painting...
I actually started with the dark blue and got most of the room done, but then I ran out of paint. So, when I went to pick Chase up from school, we stopped and I got another quart so I could finish the dark blue that afternoon. The next morning, this is what I found.
The quart was the wrong color-I was furious and devastated. I'd taken in the lid of the gallon they'd mixed so there would be no confusion and still this happened! Back to Jerry's, where they gave us the correct color of paint. They were very apologetic and gave us the next quart free, which saved me a trip to the local jail because I didn't have to hurt anyone. I actually took this picture after we'd done the ceiling because I went back and fixed the dark blue after I'd done everything else.
Chase was super excited to be painting. I know, strange, but at that age...
I let Chase have some fun with the brush while I used the roller on spaces he couldn't reach. This is the River Nigeera-not sure how you spell it since Chase made it up-and the sun.
More of Chase and his other creation. Inside the heart is D + M. I asked him what it stood for and he just gave me an exasperated look and said,"Uh, Mom and Dad, duh". Okay, so he didn't vocalize the duh, but it was in the look and the tone.
Well, if you've got one child painting there's a law stating that the other kid has to as well. Seriously, don't break this law because serious consequences will occur.
And here's the picture with the universal sign for concentration-tongue sticking out!
Okay, so I thought I should have a bit of fun also. Yes, I painted a stripe down Chase's head. It made me laugh. Honestly, I had a good time hanging out with my almost-teenager son. He's growing up so fast and he's already wanting to hang out with his friends rather than his boring old Mom. So when he said, "Mom, this is really fun isn't it?" I forgot all about the mess, my aching arms and back, and the fact that I hadn't eaten all day and took joy in the realization that I really was having a good time. Because I love my kids and being with them and making them happy is what I live for; it's what I stay home for. Well, that and to clean up the mess Mia & Corbin made while I was painting. Remember those serious consequences I was talking about earlier....
This is what happened to the kids' room while we were busy painting. It doesn't show the bottle of peanut butter they managed to spread all over their beds, hands, arms, clothes, toys, etc. You also can't see the empty boxes of granola bars they got out of the cupboard and devoured. That's the last time I figure as long as I can hear them, everything is okay.
