Decorating and Reminiscing

I mentioned before that I’m in the process of “sorta” redecorating my little shack here. I’m trying to go room by room, so I can complete one task before I move onto the next. I began here in my den. After the little guy was born, we got rid of much of the office look here. I gave my daughter a tall file cabinet, my Windsor bench, a table, a printer cabinet, and a small bookshelf – all in beautiful honey oak and formerly from my principal office. I replaced the space with a crib, changing table, and other baby accessories. Now that the little guy is almost two, we made a room for him upstairs. The naps are less frequent, and diaper/clothes changes are fewer. Once the baby room was emptied, I decided to pull things apart and re-do. When I say ‘pull apart,’ it means emptying drawers, shelves, cabinets, and giving it all a good cleaning. I’ve moved a wing chair, table, and ottoman into the room and now, I have a little reading area. There are windows on two full walls, so the light is great during the day, and I have high-hat lighting, as well as a ceiling fan with light for nights. The doorway is large (in the olden days, there were French doors there) so I can move in and out easily. I have a large, floor-to-ceiling desk on the same wall as the doorway, which houses my computer components, fax machine, phone, and stationery. My chair here is large and upholstered, and I can wheel around freely. One wall with windows holds a low stationery cabinet where I hide all my extra paper, envelopes, card stock, and labeling materials, and my printer/copier is on top. The next window wall has a radiator, and that’s where I put the reading nook. The one full wall is the backdrop for two low file cabinets, with a hutch top and a tall bookcase, (again, all in that light oak wood.) There’s a dark brown area rug which keeps my feet warm on colder days. While I love my little office, I also had to clear out some more memories. I found some old plan books and grade books, from the era in teaching prior to digital lesson plans and online grading systems. I laughed when I saw how uber organized I was! The plans are all neatly printed, and OMG – color coded! We were once told to keep them at least ten years, in case there was ever a lawsuit. I think I’m safe as into the trash they go! It did bring back some great memories, though. How I do miss teaching literature and grammar and writing and spelling and…! The grade books evoked memories of the hundreds of students who sat in my classes. With some I can conjure a clear picture of the person, others are a little foggier. I also came across a notebook I kept during my first year as principal. Where did I ever find the energy to complete all the tasks in that book? Each day had the date at top, along with a list of things that required my attention: meeting notes, classroom observations, parent visits, and phone calls. Just reading through the lists left me exhausted! So I now have a nearly completed little room of my own, where I can escape and find a little peace. I also was able to take another trip down memory lane which wasn’t as emotional or painful as previous jaunts to the same location. I guess I really am growing. Peace, Muff