Kids' rooms

I'll never forget preparing the nursery for my baby.  This was back before blogging--even before digital cameras!  But I selected just the right shade of yellow for the walls, just the right accessories from the Classic Winnie-the-Pooh line, just the right fabric for curtains.

And then came the room I decorated for two little boys.  They loved fishing, and I used that theme for their room.  I painted the walls a deep olive green, made cafe' curtains that hung from bamboo poles, hung my son's first rod and reel on the wall, found perfect linens for their bunkbeds.  It was boyish yet beautiful.

And then there was a jungle-themed room, then a space-themed room, then an Army-themed room.  That one was the best, full of authentic items purchased from an Army surplus store--even camouflage netting used as a window treatment.

But now?  This is what my oldest son's room looks like right now:

That's an actual, unretouched photo.  Can you believe it?

You see, our home is in Durham, North Carolina.  We're just a few minutes from the campus of Duke University, where my son will be a senior.  Will's friends from all over the country asked if they could store things here for the summer.

Doesn't look too great, does it?  But it works for now, because Will is not here.  He's spending the summer in Rome, working as an intern in the office of the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican.  (And if I can be a proud mom for a minute, I'll say that there is only one intern in that office--my Will.)

So Will's room at home is a storage room this summer, but it doesn't matter.  We just close the door and wait for August, when his friends will collect their things.

If you have little kids, my advice is to have fun decorating their rooms.  Involve them in the process, and create spaces that they'll enjoy.  But remember that the hearts and minds of the little ones who play and sleep there are way more important than the decor.

I'm joining Show Us Your Kids' Rooms party at Kelly's Korner.

Driving lessons

This month has included a momentous event for my family: my youngest son got his official "Limited Learner's Permit," granting him the privilege of driving with an adult supervisor as he prepares to get his full driver's license next year.

Be still, my heart.  Is my baby boy really old enough to drive?

Lee behind the wheel, photographed by his dad from the passenger seat

Lee and I have had interesting conversations as he has been learning to drive.  As we've reviewed North Carolina's driving laws, he's been perplexed that so many drivers don't follow those laws.  For instance, North Carolina law requires that drivers turn on their headlights any time the weather conditions require use of their windshield wipers.  "Lots of people don't do that," Lee observed.

I explained that using your headlights in bad weather is not for your benefit, but for the benefit of the other drivers on the road.  And I realized that people don't obey this law because they don't really get this underlying principle.  Although they may not go through the entire thought process each time they get behind the wheel, they've thought about it at some point.  A driver's declining to turn on his or her headlights shows that he or she figures there's no reason to use the headlights unless there's a direct benefit to him or her. Which means that the driver is caught up in thinking about what's good for him or her, not about what's good for all drivers on the road.

Examples of the principle of considering the good of others abound in the Driver's Manual:

--Use turn signals to let other drivers know your intentions.
--Turn on low-beam headlights in fog.
--Don't pass on a double yellow line.

Some of these laws seem very restrictive when viewed solely from the standpoint of the driver.  But when you consider that all drivers need to think about what's best for everyone concerned, they make a lot more sense.  For instance, my turning on my low-beam headlights in fog doesn't really help me a lot--my visibility is not affected much by my headlights.  But in that instance, my headlights are not for my direct benefit.  Instead, they allow other drivers to see my car.  Of course, I benefit INdirectly when other drivers can see my car and thus don't run into me.

Aha!  Isn't that the way life is supposed to work?  Turning from the Driver's Manual to the Scriptures (Matthew 22 and Mark 12, for instance), I'm reminded that God designed us to live our lives in love, keeping in mind what is good for everyone concerned, not just what's good for ourselves.  

Poor drivers.  It seems that no one is teaching some of them the underlying principle of love for others.  What do you think?

I'm joining Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now
and Inspiration Friday At the Picket Fence.

Wall art changes

Finding just the right artwork for our master bedroom has been hard for me.  I want this room to be calm and restful, so I don't want too much on the walls.  For a couple of years I had these pieces hanging above my bed.


Then I decided that I really wanted to use the metal pieces on my new front porch, so I needed something different for above the bed.  But what?

I had bought a couple of cheap prints from a street vendor when Jack and I went to Paris for our 25th anniversary.  I wanted to use these because of their sentimental value and because I think they're pretty, but I'd never had them framed.  I hated to spend a lot of money to frame them when I'd spent so little on the prints.

Then one day I remembered a couple of IKEA frames that I'd stashed in the garage.  Hmmm. . .

Yes!  Perfect fit!

In place above our bed:

Our wedding anniversary is this Friday, June 22.  We'll have been married 27 years.  So it only took me two years to get these framed and in place.  Do you think Jack married me for my efficiency?