At The CrossRoads

Sophia and I had a rare morning to spend together today.  We did a few errands in preparation for our big trip to Disney World on Monday.  After we completed them, I wanted to stop by Hobby Lobby to get Juliet's picture framed.

I had chosen it with the utmost care.  It's the portrait that will hang directly above her bed.  Yes, she is 8 months old and while she currently sleeps in her crib we already have her big girl bedroom set up. 

 It actually shocks me that I haven't mentioned I am planner, to a fault.

I think your bedroom and its decor is an instrumental part of growing up.  I can remember sitting and reading for hours, lounging as you fall off to sleep or just daydreaming in a quiet moment.  What you look at on the walls is influential and should invoke thought. 

 Think of the stark business offices most people sit in.  Occasionally there is a "motivational" art piece in a  thin plastic frame encouraging you to climb that mountain or finish that race.   Employees, some for decades, will derive feelings from that lone statement and you want them to be positive in the very least.  

For me, an obvious example comes to mind.   Bambi and her journey to taxidermy. When I enter the home of a family that kills innocent animals for sport I go through a range of unsettling emotions that certainly don't leave me feeling better about myself.  Rage, Sadness, Ignorance, Conservative politics and occasionally just a really upset stomach.  

While it took awhile for me to decide on Juliet's main wall piece, it finally came to me. 

A unicorn with its baby foul.

As Juliet matures, it is my sincere hope that she explores and processes all that this mystic creature represents.

In my mind, that being:

Unorthodox beauty

Tenacity to survive in lieu of scrutiny

Comfort with solitude

It does not surprise me in the least that we began talking with a 17 year old High School senior and her mother in the art section.  The sweet girl actually looked at me and Sophia and told me that Sophia would believe I hung the moon until age 13.  Then others had the distinct opportunity to shape her world alongside me.   This was how she felt for her mother.  She then went on to say that the feeling came back and that her mother did indeed hang the moon!  I saw that moment of joy in her mother's eyes as she looked up in pride at a job obviously well done.  I took comfort in the emotional maturity this young woman represented.  

Astonishingly she looked over at my portrait and she and her mother exclaimed, "I have a unicorn above my bed!"   Throughout the teenage years and many room redecors, she'd always kept her framed picture of the unicorn.  She said it was calming and was quite possibly the reason she owned, showed and road 3 horses.

I suppose I didn't consider the financial implications of condoning such a portrait.  I was more hoping Juliet would grasp the philosophical  attributes of this creature.

The vibrant teenager went on to say that she was leaving for college in September, but wasn't quite sure if she would go to NY to study theatre or Baylor for Business.  I glanced at her mother and caught my heart in my throat.  That internal struggle must be maddening!

 Dramatic expression on a theatre stage OR contribution to a product and/or services bottom line?

 It takes my breathe away that this girl is torn between 2 polar opposite worlds.  Depending on your level of artistic expression being in a structured corporate world as an EXPRESSIVE creative person will suck the life out of you.   Attending theatre classes when you'd rather be behind a laptop would be wildly contrastive.

When all is said and done,  the mystery of the unicorn that should be inviting Juliet on an exploration of exemplary personality traits will either have Jason and I paying a 2nd mortgage on boarding, feeding and grooming a horse or will result in Juliet deciding between accepting the professional tennis scholarship or enjoying her days as a museum curator. 

A mysterious creature that unicorn is.