Eleven Bags of Garbage Later

Thankfully, Rock Star loved his Extreme Bedroom Makeover! He came home from camp at 9pm last night, and we waited with tense, baited breath as he climbed the stairs and opened his bedroom door. “I like it!” he said simply, then picked up one of his four guitars and began strumming randomly, while I buzzed about the room, giving him the Grand Tour: “Here’s the drawer for your football clothes; here’s a bin where your sister organized all your guitar gear; your contact lens stuff is in this bag; see I hung up all your t-shirts in rainbow color order.” Then Butterfly and I recapped the weekend of decluttering. We exclaimed over the 11 bags of garbage we removed from his room, and described in specific detail the motive for putting his skateboarding magazines in racks; the logic behind a particular drawer for his baseball caps. I shoved a Pottery Barn Teen catalogue in his face, showing him some wall decals and guitar sheets I was interested in purchasing, then discussed potential wall colors for when we paint next week.

A glance at his face told me that Rock Star had checked out long ago. He was exhausted after his 4 days at camp and 5 hour bus ride home, and just needed some space. And so we left him alone to bond with his "pimped out" crib in privacy.

And today I am realizing that, while he is appreciating the order we’ve created from chaos in a way that he was unable to do by himself, and the respect we’ve shown for his personal treasures, Rock Star is a teen of simple tastes. He doesn’t care if we paint the walls “Anthem Red” or “Southampton Blue,” or hang up a Graffiti Skater wall mural or place a shaggy Riptide rug at his feet. He doesn’t place a high value on aesthetics. He is at peace when he is surrounded by the comforts of the things he loves most of all. Just give him a guitar to make his music and a phone to connect with his friendships and a safe haven for his beloved hamster. And provide him with a thoughtful plate of pizza rolls on occasion. That is all his heart desires.