An Empty Space

I had to make a change. Not because I was compelled by an inspiration of creativity, but because I was faced with a problem.

When I look at this photo, I'm so sad. I loved my canopy. I remember when I was about 8, I got my first canopy. The feeling of being in my own secret place was exhilarating. I felt quite like a princess. It just looks and feels so cozy and homey, doesn't it?

As much as I loved this canopy and as proud as I was of myself for fashioning and suspending it from the ceiling, it posed a big problem. A dirty one.

It collected dust. Not just a little dust, it was like a magnet, a force-field that drew in dust from every corner of the house. There were frequent dust bunny parties atop this crocheted platform. I could actually hear them sometimes, at night, relishing in their gaiety.

Combating the dust became quite a chore and I had to get really creative about doing it. Since the suspension of the canopy was so intricate, it was not feasible to take it down and wash it. So, I vacuumed it. I vacuumed it a lot. With the wand of the vacuum, I spent hours sucking those dust bunnies out of every crocheted nook and cranny. This caused more than a couple of visits to the chiropractor. And, the thing of it is, once I sucked up every last little bit of dust, it began to accumulate again. Heaven forbid anybody touch the thing for the whole room would be sprinkled with smut. So I was faced with a decision. Do I keep sucking up dust bunnies for eternity on this most inconvenient of places, or do I just take the darn thing down?

I took it down.

For weeks I barely even looked at the area when I went in and out of the room. I couldn't bear the emptiness of the space. It was as if something had died and I dealt with it in my own healthy way, denial.

The time came to deal with it and, today, I did.

Back in January, my Uncle sold the land in which my Grandparent's old house sat. The house was scheduled to be demolished and we were allowed to harvest whatever we wanted from it beforehand. I spent one afternoon over there with a crowbar and hammer pulling every last frame window out of that old house. That is another blog in itself.

I decided to put the windows to use over my bed. I'm sure they will collect their fair share of dust but it will be much less to care for and much easier to clean.

The room still seems so empty to me. The good news is that I've been set free from the bonds of dusting that old canopy. Freedom is much more important to me than looks. And I'm really hoping that when I get to heaven, I'll have a dust-free, canopy-covered bed.