Staging Area
Our living room is spartan. It is a beautiful room with a fireplace, two pocket door openings, one leaded glass window, and four regular windows. There are two built in bookcases that might be original to the house. We have a futon in the room, a coffee table, and two Cuffs-Beautified chairs. That is all.
When Lauren was younger, she loved doing forward rolls, or somersaults as we used to call them. So for years, house after house, one room was left almost empty so that she had a place to tumble. Though forward rolls are no longer a daily part of Lauren's life, the openness of the living room pleases me.
The openness of the room has also become a magnet for The College Staging Area. Tucked into a corner are all the essentials of college dorm life: collapsible comfy chair, hangers, closet organizers, bathroom carryall, towels, sheets and underbed storage tubs. Soon, Lauren's whole life will be expanding out of that corner. She will add her clothes, quilt, bathroom essentials, more shoes than any girl HAS to have, desk lamps, computers, iPod, batteries, power cords, AC adaptors, mattress toppers, and desk supplies.
Twelve days from now she and her Dad will argue by the back of the car as they struggle to fit all of her stuff into the back of a too-small station wagon. Lauren will be irritated and cross, and her father will be impatient and tired. Somewhere there is a manual stating that the act of separation requires irritation or anger. Maybe it is just too hard any other way.
[I am in the minority in this house right now. I anticipate difficulties finding room in the car for 6 tubs and a duffle bag of stuff, plus the fridge and the chair and whatever else comes into the staging area. Of course, I think I will be correct.]
With 12 days left before this monumental event, I know that we are looking at a new family dynamic, a dynamic that may require some patience to establish gracefully.
When Lauren was younger, she loved doing forward rolls, or somersaults as we used to call them. So for years, house after house, one room was left almost empty so that she had a place to tumble. Though forward rolls are no longer a daily part of Lauren's life, the openness of the living room pleases me.
The openness of the room has also become a magnet for The College Staging Area. Tucked into a corner are all the essentials of college dorm life: collapsible comfy chair, hangers, closet organizers, bathroom carryall, towels, sheets and underbed storage tubs. Soon, Lauren's whole life will be expanding out of that corner. She will add her clothes, quilt, bathroom essentials, more shoes than any girl HAS to have, desk lamps, computers, iPod, batteries, power cords, AC adaptors, mattress toppers, and desk supplies.
Twelve days from now she and her Dad will argue by the back of the car as they struggle to fit all of her stuff into the back of a too-small station wagon. Lauren will be irritated and cross, and her father will be impatient and tired. Somewhere there is a manual stating that the act of separation requires irritation or anger. Maybe it is just too hard any other way.
[I am in the minority in this house right now. I anticipate difficulties finding room in the car for 6 tubs and a duffle bag of stuff, plus the fridge and the chair and whatever else comes into the staging area. Of course, I think I will be correct.]
With 12 days left before this monumental event, I know that we are looking at a new family dynamic, a dynamic that may require some patience to establish gracefully.
posted by *susan* at
12:33 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Susan, it's Beth W. again. I remember meeting Lauren when she was 5 or 6 at an outdoor concert we were playing, do you remember that? Doesn't seem that long ago. I can't believe she's almost ready to leave for college. Give her my best.
By
Anonymous, at 7:47 PM
...And another adjustment when all the stuff comes back! Congratulations, very cool mom. :-)
By
The Green Cedar, at 8:41 PM
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