Occasionally I hear non-parent adults talk about adult things, such as decorating styles. Since I’ve never really had one (That picture looks nice, let’s frame it and put it on the wall…), I can only listen with detachment and wonder as the subject arises.
If I had to describe the look of our house, I would say it is decorated in early toddler, and as of recently, dog. Try as we might, their necessities overwhelm just about anything Meg and I could convince ourselves would go great in the front room.
Even when the toys are “away” there is a significant risk of tripping over anything and everything. I know we’re not far from the LEGO stage with Jamie, at which point footwear will be a necessity to navigate any room at all times. There are already enough toys in my home that could carve out a flesh hole in the bottom of your foot if stepped on. Adding LEGOS just seem a bit unfair.
As of recently, a dog crate for our 65-pound German Shepherd/hound mix, Captain, became a mainstay in our living room area. It’s not a subtle addition. For that matter, neither is the dog.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we have these toys, and I’m glad we have the dog. I’m glad my son has so much to stimulate his mind through the course of a day. And I’d happily trade the look of my house (which to be honest, I care about less than the average adult) for time with my son, and my son’s happiness.
Even better? The toys must be put away after each use now, to establish boundaries between toys for the two-legged, and four-legged. But suffice it to say, our home is a toy bomb on a regular basis, and cleaning with toddler present is no easy feat.
I just scratch my head in wonder when non-parent adults talk about all this adulty stuff – like decorating styles. Between a 2-year-old kid and the dog, it will be a few years before we buy a piece of furniture because it looks nice.
So what becomes the solution for parents who are just looking for a tiny sliver of home or apartment not overwhelmed by toys? You can set up that spare bedroom, or basement or whatever space you might have. You can create that little slice of home to call your own.
We have the basement in our house. It’s set up as a second, living area (sans the toddler motif). I’ll do a good portion of my writing from my home office down there, but the only times we’ve watched television in the basement were when we were under tornado watches. The main front room is just a little nicer.
On a whole, I am really alright with our home being toy central. It serves as unwritten permission to be a kid again, when the mood arises. If I want to spend my morning playing blocks, mastering the xylophone, or playing cars on the racetrack I can. I just don’t want to look at them when we’re done.
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