Their little princess

Recently, my parents decided it was time to sell the bed and dresser that have been in my room for the last 20 or 25 years. I'm alright with the idea in my head, but a little sad in my heart. I'm much more okay now that it turns out I know and love the little girl that will get to use this furniture next. But it's got me reminiscing about how very excited I was to have that room all for myself.

Prior to being in that room, I had been sharing bunkbeds with one of my brothers (maybe each of them at different stages? It's early enough in my life that my memories are a bit foggy.) When it came time to get *my* room ready, my parents asked me what colour I wanted it to be. Purple was my favorite colour at the time, so clearly, the only logical response was PURPLE! My parents, in their wisdom, chose a cheery, lighter mauve colour, with accents of purple throughout the room.

They also did some pretty cool things with a *very* small space, including:
-a window seat/storage bench that was the envy of all my female friends and cousins
-a homework desk and shelves built into a tiny corner
-a closet that was built out over the stairs so as not to take up any more space IN the room for storage
-cork over the door to the crawlspace, so I had my own little bulletin board
-a dresser scarf, with tatted trim and embroidery,lovingly created by my mom
-a homemade bedspread to match the trim on the homemade curtains and the homemade curtains.
-re-used string art (from an old (4-H?) project of my mom's - we (my mom and I) recovered it with purple fabric, and used leftover yarn from the afghan my grandma made to match the room. That in itself was pretty cool - being invited to help create the space that was going to be mine.

In short, it was very "matchy-matchy!" :-) It was also a haven for me throughout my childhood and teenage years. It was rarely clean. In fact there was sometimes no floor space to walk on for all the clothes strewn about, and sometimes it was hard to tell what colour the walls were behind the posters (horses, Kirk Cameron, and the cast of 90210 come to mind ... LOL!) But it was all mine. And the thought and creativity that went in to making it "just for me" was just another example of how hard my parents worked to let me know that I was significant, that my opinions mattered, and that I deserved my own space.

Even now, after I've been living away from home for over 12 years, my mom checked with me to make sure I was okay with selling the furniture. It's clearly *their* house, but that will always be "Allison's room" ... and there's still a little ceramic nameplate on the door, with stickers all over it, to prove it. :-)

Thanks Mom and Dad, for the thought and hard work that went in to creating a space for your "little princess." I'm excited to see how M likes her new "big girl bed" and dresser! :-)

*Names changed to protect identities

Here's an email a colleague sent at work today... A little background info first though: "Jane" and "Mary" are both women in their late 20s, who have attended our learning centre for a few years, and overcome great obstacles, including not speaking English at first, to do so. We have supported them along the way, and they have worked very hard to acheive their current level of success. Both are still financially in tight spots, but it's not quite as bad as it used to be. "Kate" is a 17-year-old mom who started attending in fall when she was a few months pregnant. She returned to school as soon as "Maggie" was old enough (3 months) to be in the daycare, and has also worked very hard all along. All 3 women are going to be attending a student dress rehearsal performance of Dream Girls at MTC next week with a small group from our school. What follows is a brilliant example of the community we work so hard at building within our school...

And now, finally, the email:

"I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy, and I thought I'd pass it on.

This morning, I witnessed the loveliest "pay it forward" from our wonderful students.

Yesterday, I chatted with Kate and Jane about the Dreamgirls production. Kate expressed a combination of interest in going along with concern about what to do with Maggie.

Jane called Mary about this, and they came up with a solution to the child care issue - Mary has a friend who would be willing to watch the baby!

Then...this morning...Jane came to pay for her ticket, and decided to also pay for Kate's because, Jane noted, "she will already have to pay for a babysitter, and I would like to do this."

Try to measure that in any curriculum!!!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this place????"

I couldn't agree more!! What a great way to end off my week! :-)