Fairies Be Gone!!!!

My daughter has been a fairy fan for a long time. We have fairy beds, trees, furniture, in fact, full fairy habitats. A fairy would find quite a comfortable life style living at our house.

Three years ago Sophia wanted, nay, begged to have fairies painted on her walls. I had just finished painting a full mural of monster trucks flying all around the boys room. I obliged. We painted her entire room with a blue sky full of puffy clouds, there were hills covered with trees and flowers and fairies in those trees and one flying through the air for good measure. I did most of it but she wanted to paint too. I let her paint a tree, some flowers, a tree house etc. She was so proud of herself and it was very cute. It was bonding time for us. She was thrilled and the envy of all her 7 year old pals. It was fun to do and a lot of work. But it was worth it to see how happy she was. I would have loved it when I was a kid.

Two years later she asked, "Mom, now let's paint an underwater scene." I told her to forget it. I was NOT going to be painting murals in her room every year or two. Yeah, like I have all the time in the world to be painting murals annually. Give me a break!

Well now she's a bit older and doesn't believe in fairies any more. Oh that was a sad day! It still makes me sad. She said that she wanted a big girl room and I can understand that. It still makes it a bit sad. I am thrilled that she is growing up and turning into such a beautiful young girl. She's got lots of interests, is learning the ins and outs of being a friend, she loves her brothers. She is a wonderful kid. But as we all do, I get nostalgic for that sweet, innocent baby and little girl she was.

So Bob and I decided we’d paint her room for her. She picked California Dreamin’, Benjamin Moore #757. Lovely. It’s a blue color with a bit of green in it. Actually it works rather well with the few things that we got her from IKEA a last year when we first thought of painting. We spent the past couple of nights painting. Bob did the lion’s share of the work. He is the world’s greatest daddy. He did say that as he was painting he could hear the fairies faint cries. “They were saying, ‘Oh, NO!!!’” And then he laughed and painted over their faces. Poor forgotten fairies.

I bought a couple things from IKEA to help her organize her room. There are some drawers to put under her desk for storage and some shelves to put her books and chotchkies. Man she has a lot of those. We’re going to put all the art supplies down in the basement and we’re going to make her room more like a big girl’s room. She’ll be able to hang out with her friends and do her home work in there. It’s time to let the baby go and fully embrace the tween.

I am happy that I have kept journals and a blog. I have lots of pictures and a few videos too. But it’s not the same and honestly, I don’t want it to be. There’s always going to be that spot in my heart for my baby girl who is gone. I know I loved her fiercely when she was smaller and I really enjoyed her too. It is that little girl and the mommy, friends and family that loved her that made her what she is today and for that I am also grateful. It’s yet another stage that she is going through and I am privileged to witness her develop in to the miracle that is my daughter. She is stepping over a threshold and can’t cross back and I wouldn’t want her to if she could. I know all that may sound sappy or over the top but it is how I am feeling.

I hope she enjoys the new look in her room. As she prances in there with her 10 year old attitude she needs to know that the next time she wants a change it will be Sophia who is painting it.