We've unearthed it. The Jimmy Box.
We are "moving" without actually going anywhere. We have 4 bedrooms and a "bonus" room, which is a finished garage stall. We have always called that "the 3rd stall".
The 3rd stall has always been the teen hangout room. We filled it with computers, guitars, tv, playstation, movies, friends, neighbors etc. Once Katie got a laptop, she abandoned the 3rd stall and moved her guitar and herself up to her room leaving Lexie to take over. For the past year, the 3rd stall has been Lexie's lair. Well, Lexie has been bumped and my husband moved in. We gutted the room, washed the walls, shampooed the carpet (more than once) and he turned it into "The Man Room". A place for testosterone to linger in the air. He's so happy!
Hubby had an "office" which was really just a place for his crap and his computers and games, etc. It was a mess. He decided to move out of his office and into the family room. Boom, another mess of papers and computer stuff, and speakers and beer bottles. He is now moved out of the family room corner and the office and into his "Man Room". As soon as school starts up again, most of his papers and things will reproduce into unmanageable piles but I'm not too concerned with that, as he has his very own space and its out of sight.
The "office" is now Katie's bedroom. We cleared it out, washed walls and carpet, cleaned out the closet, and all that jazz. The room is now a nice bedroom. Her dear daddy bought her a huge dresser with mirror and a nightstand, and moved her Queen bed down there and gave her a tv too. All that furniture makes it a tight squeeze, but I figured that might be best since she'll have less room to toss her clothes on the floor. Less floor space = less mess? We'll see. She's very happy to be on the main floor. It's like moving away from the family a wee bit.
So, now we are gutting out Katie's ex-bedroom, which will become the bedroom for the younger set of princesses. Lordy the mess!!! That child had more crap tucked away in corners and underneath and behind and la la la. And the dust! Holy blanket of dust! I've got it empty now, just need to vacuum up the next layer of dust, paint the walls pink and shampoo the carpet. Cleaning out the teen bedroom was an adventure.
Getting under the layers of clothes, books, trinkets, blankets, old shoes, kitchen spoons and mystery items.... we found it. The Jimmy Box.
Jimmy was Katie's boyfriend for her last two years of high school. It was one of those cute little high school romances that rode its own roller coaster of happiness and sorrow. Toward the end, happiness was really a one-sided feeling. Jimmy was so happy and Katie was just annoyed. He usually looked like the happiest little boy on Christmas morning, and she usually looked like she'd love an excuse to run, Fast. Finally, it ended. And the Jimmy Box went to the back of the closet where it was soon buried.
The Jimmy Box is a wooden cabinet that Jimmy built for Katie. I remember when he gave it to her, his handicraft, work from his own hands, his pride made of wood. She smiled politely. She said Thanks. She wondered what the hell it was and what she'd do with it. He was grinning from ear to ear. She filled it with Jimmy souvenirs. Photos, movie ticket stubs, his hat, a drum key, that sort of thing.
And now we have unearthed the Jimmy Box. Katie said "oh yeah, my Jimmy Box. Lets just dump it in the trash". She had that same annoyed look on her face. It's a nice cabinet. Not sure what we'll do with it after we dump out the Jimmy stuff. Anyone out there in the market for a Jimmy box?
