One Little Teepee

by Suzanne Milne on 31/10/2015

A month or so back, I was perusing an elegant interiors store and came across a bed I thought would be perfect for my son… We’ve moved so many times in his five-year-old life (he’d stayed in 20 different cities before his fourth birthday…) that I just figured having a little man-cave as his own little space would be just the ticket. Designed like a teepee, it provided just the right balance of being enclosed without being scary. But then there was the price tag. Alack, with funds sorely lacking and the need being nigh, what could I do? Well, I tossed the whole idea in the too-hard basket, of course.

Today… I discovered my alter-ego. You know, the Mum who had the same experience, the same thoughts, the same lack of funds and the same ‘too-hard basket’ in the corner of the room, but who decided to make the bed – herself! She is a bit of a superhero mum, her name is Sarah and her uber-cool website is Hello Bowsers

As I read the opening paragraph of Sarah’s tale, about how she discovered then gave up on the idea of purchasing the bed, I was utterly convinced she’d somehow shadowed my steps and thoughts as I walked through the interiors store that day (excepting that she lives on the other side of the world). But then, my oh my, instead of simply bemoaning her situation, she stood up and demanded not only that it could be done, but grabbed up her hammer and chisel and deemed that it would be done! And so it happened, piece by piece, plank by 2×4 plank, from the ground up until one glorious teepee had arisen from the makings of her mind.

How did she do it and not get stuck or stopped or change tack? Well, she did it – you know – the way I wouldn’t have: buy the mattresses then build the trundle bed frame first (so she would know the height to build the main bed), sand everything back with utter diligent care “because you know little fingers might get splinters”, etc etc etc.

So before I head back into the realm of setting live the first of our 12 We Love features for Christmas (and oh my there are a lot of these 12 We Love features that we are about to share!!), I just wanted to share this utterly amazing project and the maelstrom of Do It Ability that is Sarah.

It is not just the project itself that is brilliant (and something I am now putting in my own challenge bucket list), but rather what the project represents. It is a reminder that waaaaay too often we (parents) might look at something that comes into our ambition-thwarted lives and throw it into the too-hard basket. Sarah reminds me of that fabulous Therapy For All episode with Bob Newhart where he says “Stop It!”, except she says “START IT!” “Just start now!”

Want the bed yourself? Read Sarah’s step by step instructions here.

Inspired? Read her full story here.

And for a little laugh, here’s that Bob Newhart sketch to remind you that sometimes you just gotta ‘Stop It!’ before you can Start It!