Sometimes my wife outdoes herself. When our first child was on his way into the world we were certain we had everything under control. We thought we knew everything. While we ended up basically having things under control, we certainly didn’t know everything. We spent too much money on new clothing and not enough second-hand stuff we were given or could get on the cheap. We had too many ideas about what to do to our baby’s room and not enough money or time to really implement a fraction of it. He had furniture, to be sure, and bedding and other ephemera, but at the end of the day it was a small portion of what we’d originally intended. This isn’t, by the way, a fault. New parents dream big. It’s just a fact. And while we’re still dreaming big for our next child’s room (well, they’ll share one), we’re certainly tethered to the earth by that magnificent thing called experience (it really is a great teacher).
So, when embarking on our second shot at a children’s room, my wife decided to do some original paintings to hang on the wall. While this sounds probably more ambitious than buying some stuffed animals or painting the walls in a monochromatic hue, she’s a wonderful artist. Also, when a mother gets an idea about something she can do for her children, there’s nothing that can stop her. She’s simply going to do it, and she did. So, for our daughter who is on the way, she decided to paint a ballerina to go in the same room as (but on a different wall from) the painting of the guitar she’d done earlier. I’m sure some other things will soon adorn the walls of that room before our new child comes into the world, but we’re taking it “easy” this time around. We’re still dreaming big, but we’re tethered by experience.