When we repainted our house a few years ago, I was really careful not muck up the walls. I was always reminding the kids not to touch the walls.
Anyone with kids can probably guess how well that went.
Back then, I couldn’t recognize a losing battle when I saw it, and trust me, this was a losing battle.
Having said that, I’ve grown a great deal since then and not just in the waistline. While it took a little while for me to realize that the marks in the walls gave our house character, I see that now.
Looking back on how I tried to protect the freshly painted walls, I feel silly for putting so much weight on something that mattered not.
Fast forward a few years and if you walked through my house and looked at my walls, you would see Hot Wheel tire marks everywhere. There’s no shortage of tents and dings either. However, what has become my personal favorite is the tiny little handprints, scattered across the living room.
If you look close enough, it’s like actually watching my kids grow up, right before your eyes.
These handprints, these imperfections on my walls have become treasures that have come to value greatly. I would never paint over them and I would never cover them up.
In fact, there are times that I would actually like to physically frame them in, just like a picture.
I used to think that things like these made my house look trashy. As I’ve grown wiser with age, I realized that the handprints made our house a home.
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I love this! We finally live in a house that has semi-gloss paint throughout so the walls can easily be washed, but for many years, all the places we lived had flat paint. Hand prints don’t wash off that. My dining room table desperately needs to be refinished or replaced, but I decided there isn’t any point since Zeke uses it as a desk and it is constantly getting scratched. Tablecloths work just fine when necessary. I think the biggest issue we have is the peeling of dry wall, loose paint, and caulking in the bathroom. Zeke can’t resist peeling anything like that, and our apartment manager doesn’t take too kindly to it. But it’s part of being the parent of a child with autism. Walls can be washed or painted, scratches in furniture can be covered, caulking can be replaced, but our children are a blessing that we have for what seems like a very short time!
@DeborahWigginSnyder that’s awesome. Memories in the making 🙂
Treasure them, Rob – and I agree…things like that do make the difference between a place you sleep at night, and a home you live in and create wonderful memories for all of you (including the kids). 😀
@Patrick Toussaint thanks Patrick 🙂
If you really enjoy them what you can do is every year on a specific date even make a new family holiday. Have each child make a craft with their handprints and slide them into a binder and you can watch them grow and flip through it whenever. It will also make an awesome keepsake