From Nursery to Bedroom

Who knew one room could mean so much?

My younger son is about to go ‘crib-less’.

With this third birthday quickly approaching, my wife and I have been making plans to transform his nursery into a dinosaur-themed bedroom.

But the thought of taking down all remaining baby décor remnants and painting over the neutrally- selected yellow walls has caught me off-guard.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m excited for him to have a new room (after all, he did inherit it from his older brother with no say in the matter).

And I’m thrilled to see him take ownership of his room, just like his brother did with his new room across the hallway nearly three years ago.

It just doesn’t seem that long ago that we were dismantling the home office that corner room once served as, and painting the ceiling and walls as we anxiously awaited the arrival of our first born.

Our lives were about to change, we knew that much. How exactly it would though was still a mystery.

Within those four walls, my wife and I took turns at all hours of the night comforting our sometimes restless baby boys, walking from one end of the room to the other when called upon, or rocking back and forth in the corner chair to settle them back to sleep.

I can remember playing peek- aboo with them through the crib rails, each time generating more and more laughter from both father and son alike.

The honey oak crib has bit of family history too.

Before my sons, it served as the primary sleeping abode for two of my nieces. (As I write this, I have learned that another niece, who recently turned one, will be using it at her maternal grandmother’s house during her semi- regular visits to Windsor-Essex County).

First steps

That nursery was also the room where one of our sons learned to crawl, and both bravely took their first independent steps. Soon, the crib will be gone. So will the rocking chair, and the lamb rug, and the Winnie the Pooh/ Tigger artwork, and various other baby items that both boys have long outgrown.

But those early parenthood memories will always remain.