“That’s quite the bunkbed!”
That quote comes from the appraiser for our recent
refinance. I’m sure he sees ALL SORTS of stuff walking around in the most
intimate spaces of strangers. Here’s a picture, so you can see why he said
that.
My husband built them. We wanted the bottom bunk
not to feel claustrophobic, even when including the box springs. But that put
the top bunk with the ceiling fan in head-striking distance. So he built a
guard rail to keep my daughter’s head clear of the blades when they were
turning. I know it looks ridiculous, but it works. I was proud of it, but I
couldn’t post a picture on my social media page. Want to know why? Because I
was embarrassed. Not of the bed. Of the storage I keep in my kids’ room. Almost
a third of their bedroom is taken up by food storage, fabric storage, and our
board game storage. Not to mention that we built bunkbeds because we HAD to. We
needed more kids in less space. Is this normal? Well, according to catalogs,
blogs, and my own friends’ posts on social media, it’s not normal. Normal is a
kid’s room with only kids’ belongings in it, and their name painted,
embroidered or decaled on numerous items around the room. It’s curtains that
match the paint and bedspreads, and only enough toys to fit neatly inside small
and cutely decorated storage bins. It’s clothing that matches and has never
been worn by anyone else (no hand-me-downs). I do not live in that world. But
yet I’m shallow enough that I don’t want everyone to see that I don’t. I didn’t
post that picture before because I didn’t want to be seen as “ghetto” or
“redneck.” Well, here’s me getting over it. We are a happy family, even without
matching décor.
4 comments:
Thanks for posting. We all do what we have to and our kids are better for it. Nathan slept on a double bed downstairs that was elevated on the five gallon buckets so that we could keep our food storage under his bed. ALL of my kids have worn hand-me downs and garage sale and thrift store clothes - most of their wardrobe is that - we just supplement with new. Being the oldest growing up, I did the same. I just think that I am teaching my children good things - to be frugal, not wasteful and appreciative of the things that they have. And I don't think they will ever have perfectly decorated rooms with matching decor. The things that your kids are learning from you and your husband are priceless. They are learning important skills - making their own furniture, how to make do with what you have in the best possible ways, how to save and be frugal, etc. My dad made us bunkbeds as kids for the same reason - he wanted to be able to sit up on the bottom bunk with us. They still have the bunk beds and it is a treasured family item with lots of memories. So, I'm SO glad you got over it and can be proud of it and your AWESOME parenting skills.
Way to jump over your old feelings, Angela! Enjoy your new ones. Love You.
Good for you! I think that's a super creative solution. I do know people whose kids' rooms look like this, but they are the minority. My oldest sister has 5 kids spanning from young adult to toddler and they live in a 3 bedroom home, 1180 sq ft. They have gotten very creative and shuffle room assignments as needed. The rooms are jam-packed with storage and for months one teenage boy had his own room...that still had pink walls. Tough luck - at least it was sort of his own space.
My other sister - her kids have beautiful customized rooms as you described, but that's only because they finally moved into a bigger place where the kids didn't have to share. Plus she has her own set of issues. That's just one of her strengths. You have to see the whole picture.
Thanks for keeping it real.
My first thought on seeing the picture, wasn't that it was "ghetto" or somehow worse than having pretty-fied rooms. I couldn't see the fan blades, so I thought it was part of some imagineering project where the kids could pretend the top bunk was part of a pirate ship or castle wall with the turret shape on top.
Do they ever dress it up that way? :)
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