A few months ago my dad moved out of his house and was getting rid of most of his furniture. Since I've never had a nice bedroom, and being the oldest sister living in the country, I felt justified in speaking his bedroom set. My sisters were very gracious about it. I've wanted a nice bedroom for a long time. My bed didn't even have any sort of a headboard or anything, just the mattress and box springs, and two mismatched broken down dressers. So I was THRILLED to get this set, and I also got the matching bedding. I was so happy. I love being in my room now. It feels so different, it even feels cleaner, and I'm much more motivated to make the bed.
The problem is at the head of the bed there's this big mirror. After we got the set I noticed fingerprints on the mirror every time I went in there. I'd go get the Windex and clean them off. This would happen several times a week. I finally got sick of it and lectured the kids to stop mucking up my mirror. Surprisingly, they minded.
A few weeks ago I was reading my friend Heidi's blog. She had a link to this woman's blog who had just had a traumatic experience. She had briefly left her baby alone in the tub and when she came back he had drowned. By some miracle they revived him at the hospital and after a couple of weeks he made a full recovery and returned home. I became obsessed with following her story. It was every mother's worst nightmare, and I'm so glad it was a happy ending for them. Her story changed me. Ever since reading it I have been so much more grateful for my children and have tried to practice lots of patience and not sweat the small things. I've done well. I would like to say it's a permanent change, but we'll see. I'm not too hopeful. It's too bad that it's human nature to need to nearly lose someone to show them just how grateful we are for them. I will keep it up as long as I can, though. I walked into my bedroom a few days ago and glaring out at me were several little handprints, all over the mirror. Now they make me smile every time I see them. I'm going to leave them there.
4 comments:
It is nice to get new furniture. Even if it is used. That is how we got ours too.
I also read the same blog and bawled all day. I had the same thoughts as you. I hope I can appreciate my kids more.
So cute. It is sad but true, we all need to be reminded how much we love our children and how un-important some things really are. Thanks for sharing.
Um, excuse me? You had TWO broken down dressers? I only have one broken down dresser, so please bring the bedroom set over. (I also need more assistance with my house looking clean.)
I read that blog, too - I went to junior high school with the sister-in-law of that family (it's a small world after all). It's so funny because I was just thinking about how I don't see little handprints on the windows anymore and it kind of makes me sad.
I LOVE free furniture - and my room is always a mismatched mess, so I'm excited for your new bedroom!
Also - it's totally weird that Trevor is ten years old; it makes me realize that it has been TEN YEARS since we really got to hang out (I think we've seen each other a couple times since, but it was brief). Man, that's lame of us. Happy birthday to Trevor!
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