Rooms for 2

Last night was the last night the boys shared a room.

This is the room Declan came home to after he was born. Where the sun poured in and bounced around the bright melon-orange walls. And where we excitedly entered every morning when we heard him stirring, and picked him up and swirled him around joyful to see him, and joyful to see his joy, and swaying and dancing with our little partner to Norah Jones: "What am I to you/ Tell me, darlin' true/ To me you are the sea/ Vast as you can be/ The deepest shade of blue..."

And after he was born, Brendan joined him there, taking over the bed and putting Declan in a big-boy bed.

Now that big boy nearly overflows the top bunk , gangly limbs pressing against the rails. And now that big boy has his own room, and a new bed that is finally has the capacity to hold him. And tonight Brendan is the big boy in the top bunk.

In our eight-month remodel, when we added a new master bedroom, we always looked ahead to when the boys would get their own rooms. The Wednesday before the Super Bowl, our room was done enough for Megan and me to move into, but Megan's parents came that day to visit, to see the new house, and help us with the final few days pushing toward the finish line. So it was they who took over our old room, and the new Ikea bed that converts from a twin to a king.

But Grandma Mary and Grandpa Jim left this morning, and Declan spent a happy afternoon moving his books and art into what he called "the dustiest room in the house," out of what we called "the messiest room in the house." He's convinced the mess will stay Brendan's, and D will keep his new room clean. Megan and I hope that the new expanded space for both of them will help us all be more neat and organized. 

Postscript: This morning Brendan reported that he really liked being in the top bunk, but had a hard time falling asleep, because he didn't have Declan to talk to after lights out, to wear him out. This is one of the things we worried about, because the boys would typically spend a long, long time talking to each other after they went to bed. Was tempted to fire up the baby monitor again, to see what they're always chatting about. We'll see if they can start falling asleep sooner, but it's also a tiny bit sad. Time marches on.

Post, postscript: That night, Thursday, B was in tears after going to bed, telling us he had things to say and no one to tell them to, so he couldn't get to sleep.

The next night he slept in Declan's bed with him. At least, until he fell out during the night. The twin bed is not appropriately named, it seems. But he was happy. I think they both were... at the very least, Declan was OK with helping out B.

Last night, Monday, was a school night again, And this time B told Declan he still wanted to talk. I asked D to help his brother out and go listen to him for a bit. By the time I went in there, B was sound asleep and Dec had left. Mission accomplished. It's a process, I guess.