When we decided a few months ago to forgo selling our house, we immediately began to make plans to transform (maybe that's too grand a word) our house into something closer to what we want in the long run. I mean, let's face it - the real estate market is not exactly dazzling, so I think we'll be here for the foreseeable future.
The first step is finally completed. We've chosen to have Paul move into Gus's room, giving Ben his own room. At 10 1/2 years old, we figured our oldest deserved to have his own space. He'll be able escape his brothers and have a place to practice music, do homework, store all his books.
Mark painstakingly painted red, white, blue and gray stripes onto Gus's walls. The effect is super-cool, and we plan to have Paul and Gus choose some new posters for their room. The side benefit of all of this, and the part that excites me most, is that we dismantled the bunk beds from Ben and Paul's room and placed them as two separate beds on opposite sides of the boys' room. I could write an entire screed about how much I hated the logistics of having the bunk bed.
We moved Paul into his new room two nights ago. I could tell right away the boys had some mixed feelings. (Not Gus, though - he was thrilled to welcome his new roomie.) Paul, who's prone to sensitivity, shed some tears mostly, I think, because getting used to a new arrangement takes time.
As for Ben, I asked him if he was excited. After all, this arrangement is most beneficial to him. He responded with characteristic Ben enthusiasm: "Yeah, I guess." He'd never admit it, but I suspect Ben's more than a little ambivalent about all this. He's shared a room with Paul for the better part of the past five years.
Finishing up reading the last chapter of Judy Blume's Double Fudge to Paul last night, Ben came to mind. Peter, the oldest in the Hatcher family, is in seventh grade. He's got this uber-annoying little brother, Fudge. Fudge has just lost a tooth and is preparing for the tooth fairy to come. In a series of events too long to explain, Fudge's tooth has gone missing, and he found a box of Peter's baby teeth that his mom kept. Fudge wants to borrow one of Peter's teeth to put under his pillow, but Peter says no. The book closes with Peter slipping his box of teeth under his own pillow, because hey, you never know. I see a lot of Peter in Ben. He's straddling the line between little boy and older boy. Part of him wants to be grown-up, and part of him just wants to stay a little kid.
My sister-in-law, who has three girls, advised me, somewhat in jest, that I should have four kids so that each child could have a mate. Well, four kids is going to be a no-go for us. I'm happy with three. Anyway, I actually think we've been pretty lucky. Paul is such a great middle kid. He can happily play video games or sports with Ben or invite Gus into their new room to make a special clubhouse, as they did this morning. As for Ben and Gus, we'll see. At nearly six years apart, they face a substantial divide, but I think they'll grow to be buddies.
I hope this transition continues to go smoothly and that everyone will be content in their new places. Because Lord knows, the changes just keep on coming.
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