My 8th grade daughter has been working on transforming her room this past week. We let her pick out her own paint and come up with her own ideas. We are also letting her do the work. That is actually to our benefit (smile).
However we told her that once she picks colors, it will stay that way until she moves out. So she had to be absolutely positive this was what she wanted.
She picked out a very deep purple. It’s quite dark and a stark contrast from the first color of her room, pink. Her trim was always white but that is about to change to…gulp…black. Okay, at least the walls aren’t going to be black. I can live with black trim. Yet she wants either purple carpeting or black carpeting. We are hoping to find purple carpeting at a reasonable price.
Then last night she painted two large squares on her wall of chalkboard paint. She is very excited about having the use of a chalkboard on her wall. She has really been doing a super job and I give her a lot of credit for all the work she has done.
It is in moments like this, however, that I tend to reminisce. As I take a stroll back down memory lane I recall the other things that used to decorate her room…her ballet slippers, Precious Memories trinkets, containers filled with Polly Pockets and Barbie’s…her room has definitely transformed and gone are the signs of the little girl she once was.
But I have to admit…her room looks pretty cool. While my parents would have never allowed me to paint my own room or pick out those colors, I feel good about the decision to allow her to express who she is. A teenager’s bedroom is supposed to be a place they feel safe in, a place they can be who they are.
It’s a stark difference from the earth tone colors you see throughout my house but it is a representation of her and it is just perfect. No more little girl in this house.
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