Since Matt requires a wheelchair to get around our house, my messiness during a big project (and you all know I’m a very messy DIYer!) often prevents him from seeing the daily (or even weekly or monthly) progress on my big room makeovers. This means he only sees them once or twice during the project and then sees the big reveal at the end when all the tools and materials are put away.
He hadn’t seen any of my progress in the last six months or so. He was content to just let me work without moving things out of the way so he could check the progress. In fact, my closet wasn’t even finished the last time he checked in on the progress. The last time he saw the closet it looked something like this…
I know it was before the floors were replaced, before the cabinets were painted, and before the wallpaper was put up. From then until I moved him into our new bedroom last week, he heard everything about my projects. He asked how it was going and I told him all about putting the wallpaper in the closet, painting the cabinets, and building the island. He learned all about wainscoting in the foyer and bedroom as well as installing grasscloth. He watched me make hundreds of trips between the carport and the bedroom suite, carrying lumber, lumber, and plywood. And he heard me working there for hours. But that was the only evidence of actual progress he had. He never saw any of it himself until I loaded him into his Hoyer lift last week to take him to our newly finished bed in our new, almost finished bedroom.
So what was his reaction? He loved it! I didn’t catch his reaction on video. To be honest, I didn’t even think about it. I really wanted to bring him in and show him everything. But even if I had recorded his reaction, I wouldn’t have shared it online. Matt never volunteered for this whole blogging thing. He did not volunteer to post pictures and videos of himself online for the world to see. I’m the only one who signed up for this whole blogging and online world. I’ve occasionally shared a picture of Matt over the years (with his permission), but since he’s never shown any interest in being a regular part of it, I’ve never assumed that I could or should share his normal life with the online world.
But what I can tell you is that showing Matt our bedroom suite that first day was just as exciting as the reveals you see on TV where the homeowners are kept away from the project until it’s finished and then are brought in for the big reveal. He was amazed. Stunned. I don’t know what he had in mind as I described things to him over the last few months, but I do know that the actual bedroom suite far exceeded his expectations.
I walked him very slowly through the foyer so he could take in everything. I showed him my closet and he was very impressed. He loved the foyer. The grass wallpaper and the chapel painting were his favorites.
And then I took him into the bedroom and slowly turned him in his Hoyer lift so he could take it all in. He kept saying, “Wow. WOW!” After putting him to bed, I went to the kitchen to get him some water and I could still hear him in the bedroom saying, “WOW!!” I have to admit, it was worth it.
I think we’ve been in our new bedroom for about a week now and Matt has been telling me every day how much he loves the room. His favorite thing is the grasscloth wallpaper, but he’s pointed out some other things (without me asking) that he really likes. He actually really likes the bird wall. I wasn’t so sure he would like that, but he does, and he gave me that compliment without me asking for it. Every day since we’ve been there he’s said, “I love this bedroom,” and yesterday he said, “This is the most beautiful bedroom I’ve ever seen.”
VALUE. IT. This makes all of my hard work, all of the ups and downs and every misstep and every repetition completely worth it. I could see the progress every single day and knew I liked how everything was turning out. But the fact that he praised my work so much every day for the last week is the icing on the cake.
But that brings us to his only request: a new television. The TV I originally put in the bedroom was the same one we had in our previous bedroom.
This is a 55″ TV and I thought (and hoped) it would work in the new bedroom. But this new bedroom is a lot bigger and the TV is further away from the bed. So his only request for the bedroom was a new 65-inch television.
All of you. This thing is HUGE, especially for a bedroom.
It’s definitely not what I envisioned for our new bedroom. Our bedroom feels a bit like a cinema now. But you know what? If that’s what he wants, I’m happy to work with it. He spends a lot more time in the bedroom than I do, and I want him to feel happy and comfortable. At some point it will hang on the wall. I had to order a new (much stronger and larger) wall mount for this beast and it won’t be here until tomorrow. So until then it looks like this.
I still plan on building a frame for it, but of course my plans for that frame will have to change a bit. It can’t be nearly as prominent as the frame I had planned for the much smaller TV. I’m so glad I hadn’t built this frame yet!
Anyway, the fact that this is the only change he asked for is pretty good. I consider it a win that he loves everything else about the room. And if I’m honest, I really enjoyed this big TV too. It’s not what I planned and it’s not what I envisioned for this wall, but I can work with it. And more importantly, it’s worth making this one change so he can have a bedroom he truly loves.
