Saturday morning…laundry, catching up with a neighbor as we walk our dogs, straightening the house, a delicious cup of crazy hot tea. I love lazy mornings. I was opening a box of totally groovy lucite mini clipboards when my Greg walked in the room. His look said Do I want to ask? I did not give him time to leave, I like to explain my madness. At church last week a lively mom of 3 littles saw me decorating rocks with the kids during coffee hour and asked if I was in charge of the “keep the kids busy crafts” at the back of the sanctuary. It seems some generous loving person replaced the paper and crayons with… not exactly church pew friendly craft kits from a company known for notoriously complicated with a million tiny pieces products. No sorry, I said, but I can be…I’ll have a new plan in action next week. Thus, the clipboards with blank paper attached to let their creative juices flow, no glitter involved.
Describing the mom so he knew who I was talking about..a ball of energy, she brilliantly juggles kids, coffee, and conversation with a smile. This reminded Greg of his lunch bunch…their energy is a lot. They feel safe in his room which transforms from printing, to clay, to painting, to lunch…it’s a Room of Requirement. Why was that familiar? From Harry Potter he said, the room that you go to and it becomes what every room you need. It has the unique ability to transform itself into anything required at that moment in time. Nothing makes my heart swell more than hearing his room becomes the room that these kids need.
Our Room of Requirement was the room we entered when we viewed our house for the first time, a three season porch, almost the length of the whole downstairs. It had 40s wicker furniture with thick black and white striped fabric, and a zebra skin rug on the floor…talk about groovy. This room transforms into what ever we need it to be. Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, tables lined up, too many people, too close together, I would not have it any other way. Birthday parties, neighborhood craft nights, Girl Scout meetings, movie making camps and premieres, it is like tofu, taking on what ever flavor needed. It has been a sculpture studio for my son as he created a lighthouse and a painting studio for 4 little girls creating oversized Sesame Street inspired abstract color field paintings. Recently it’s been a staging area for wedding table designs, props lined up awaiting a yes or pack it back up. And now, a warehouse for the chosen wedding props awaiting their big day. This room allows us to mold it and abuse it, and love it. I adore that I have a name for this room now, our Room of Requirement.
Hugging my dude and professing my admiration for his ability to be there for his kids he interrupted my swooning to say, Kat, I brought up the Room of Requirement because that is what you are, you are a Person of Requirement, you give people what they need at the moment they most need it.
Wow. Overwhelmed. Seen. Loved…all before noon on a cozy Saturday morning. I might just crawl in bed and read, today is already a win. Ha. That is never happening.