Paid Off

Last October we decided to buy bunk beds for the twins. They could not be just any bunk bed, they had to be special. We searched until we found solid wood bunk beds with stairs that reach the top instead of a ladder. Each stair houses a drawer and their are captain drawers under the bottom bed. On the side of the stairs there is a built in bookcase....this bed was perfect. Perfect but expensive, as one can imagine. With great thought we purchased a complete set for each of the twins, realizing that they would not share a room forever.

There are no toys allowed in the twins' room. No food, no drinks.... our goal to keep the bedroom for sleeping and the new bunk beds clean and neat.

We just paid off the bill....time to celebrate. We made a large furniture purchase and were able to pay it off in four months. Perfect! Until tonight when I was putting clothes in the drawers that adorn that ascend the stairs. There it was the portrait of my son's testing the limits. There on the front of the drawer were deep scratches crafted with a sharp stick from outside. Why the stick was in his room and why he felt it was okay to do are not relevant. He did it....he permanently scarred our big purchase...the bed that he was to have for his entire childhood. Although I often tend to over react, I stayed calm and walked my way through the incident with my son. We talked, I stressed my extreme disappointment and he was punished.

The lesson? As a parent there are things that your child will do that are unimaginable. There are times to explode and times to discuss. There are worse things than some scratches on a drawer. Did he learn from this experience only time will tell. Of course the thing that bothers me the most is that the beds were finally paid for. I am sure that someday I will look at those scratches with tears in my eyes, remembering the bright, curious four year old that made them. I'm sure I will consider the scratches a piece of his childhood and maybe even consider them priceless.