Separation Anxiety

Gage has been bugging Mark and I for the last few months to move his bedroom to the "dungeon" (otherwise referred to as "the basement") but we've been putting it off, hoping that he would either eventually give up the cause or forget about it. There are a million things I'd rather do, such as give myself a pap smear with an eyelash curler and a putty knife, than haul three dressers, one full-size bed, and too much stuff to count that only a thirteen year old boy would consider too important to throw away on the off chance he "might need it someday" (Yes, he's a total packrat. Why would he possibly need a broken pair of headphones or a battery pack for a remote control car that no longer works? I have no idea, but he seems to think that anything worth having is worth having forever. Even if it's broken.) downstairs to the basement.

I had no intention of moving his bedroom to the basement, but I also had no intention of spending my entire summer vacation listening to Carter and Ryerson argue over whether or not Spongebob Squarepants is a fictional character or a reality tv star, either (Ryerson seems to believe that if it's on tv, then it must be true, while Carter, who is ten and wise to the ways of the world, says the possibility of a sponge that can walk and talk and live in a pineapple under the sea is, and I quote, "bullcrap".). Carter and Ryerson have shared a room forever and the two of them were driving each other batshit crazy, so I decided that maybe letting Gage move his bedroom to the basement wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

When I told the kids we would be spending the day moving furniture, Gage threw his arms in the air and cried, "YES!", Carter wrapped his arms around me and said, "Thank you! THANK YOU!", and Ryerson, bless his heart, threw a monumental hissy fit. It never occured to me that it was going to be THAT big of a deal and I watched in stunned disbelief as his face turned various shades of purple while he cried and sat on his mattress so I couldn't move it and threw himself at Carter's feet while promising him he wouldn't bug him anymore. He slammed the door and tried to lock me out of what was going to be his new bedroom. He hid his sheets, got all up in my face and screamed, "I am never ever gonna have my own room! EVER!".

Needless to say, it did NOT go well.

I eventually had to give up and wait for Mark to come home to reason with him, and we finally convinced him that having his own room was "really cool because Gage and Carter aren't allowed in your bedroom unless YOU say it's okay" (we were desperate and appealed to his bossy nature) and we also bribed him with two popsicles and a bed tent.

That was a few weeks ago and Ryerson's gotten over the fact that he's no longer sharing a bedroom with Carter. In fact, he actually seems to like it ("Mom said you can't come in unless I say so! I say you can't come in! Neener, neener, neener!"). Carter is a much happier kid because he has a little more privacy and a place to go when he craves peace and quiet, and Gage loves having his bedroom downstairs because he can sleep in until noon without having to deal with Ryerson sneaking into his bedroom at the buttcrack of dawn, pull his eyelids open and scream, "ARE YOU AWAKE YET?". Carter and Ryerson have been getting along a lot better and I haven't had to listen to them fight over the tv they once shared because now they each have their own.

Everybody wins.

Comments

[Sprite's Keeper]

Wait, how do you win again?

[Michele]

Uh, does Gage have a separate entrance? I could see some problems with that. Or was I the only teenager that snuck out after mom and dad went to bed.

[Casey]

Wow, Rye looks so grown up in that picture! There are so many things about this story that I'm jealous of, tent beds and basements. I'm glad you found a compromise and I'm sooooooooo jealous that you have a basement. We don't have them here in FL and it sucks.

[Julie]

See, I blame the mother for the packrat issues. You totally have the CONTROL to break him of this habit right here and now. I don't have any idea how you might go about doing that though, lol ;) And I'm totally speaking tongue in cheek here.

I live with a packrat husband. To this day (he's almost 50 btw) if I try and sneakily throw any of his worn out, broken shit away (not to mention piles and piles of paperwork that only he knows what they belong to) I get a full on hissy fit. Bordering on abuse. And worn out/old/broken t.v. sets and computer crappe? All stored (like the little squirrel that he is) up in our walk in attic space. Or, out in his workshop garage. Looking like shit. I hate packrat mentalities. If I'd known that I'd be dealing with this totally mental twisted attitude shit back in the day (like when we were still living together, not yet married) I would have run away screaming for the hills.

But no one clued me in.

So, now married 20 yrs (but together 27) it's not gotten better, and as I tell my almost adult sons, "happy wife=happy life" I believe the mother has the best input in their formative years for this type of thing.

Just sayin'.
Love,
Julie

[Pseudo]

I love a story with a happy ending. We don't have basements in Hawaii so kids only know a basement bedroom by That 70's show.

[Keely]

Awwww! I love that bed tent. I don't remember such drama when I moved to the dungeon as a teenager, but I'm sure there was some angst.

[nic @mybottlesup]

i love the phrase "neener neener neener" and i think i'll use it for the rest of the day. :)

[jenni]

that's so sweet that ryerson didn't want to leave his brother. they really do love each other!

[Susan]

Since things are going so well over there, which one of my kids are you taking on?

[blissfully caffeinated]

That makes me wish we had a basement. I'd stick both of my kids in it.

[Jess]

That bed tent is awesome!!! I remember having one as a kid, but haven't thought of them in years. Hmm... I'm sensing a Christmas present in the works... for me! LOL!

[D.M. Wright]

Awww - it's like you are the perfect Brady bunch family now! Loved the eyelash curler and putty knife comment - LOL!

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