What about monsters in the closet?

With our much anticipated referral getting ever closer, we are continuing to finish up stuff in the nursery. (I've been told that we are going a bit overboard, but hey, we decided we were ready to be parents almost six years ago... I've had a lot of time to dream up this beautiful room) This week we started work on the closet. At the suggestion of a friend we decided to take down the closet doors (I guess I'd find many reasons to put things into the closet while our princess is sleeping?) and replace them with sheer curtains. I was game, so recently I spent an afternoon painting the inside of the closet a sweet green shade to match the bedding. I searched for wicker baskets and spent several days with a measuring tape in various stores until I found ones the correct size and shape. Then I took one along with all of the leftover material from the bedding to a cousin who is going to sew matching liners. I sorted all the baby clothes that we've already been given in size order and hung them in the closet. It is fun to imagine her in some of the outfits! Now all we have to do to finish the closet is actually hang the curtains.

Then today as I was admiring my handiwork, I had a dreadful thought ~ I have taken the security of closet doors away from my child. What, security of doors you may ask? Well, you see, as a child I really didn't like to go to sleep at night. Mom says that I would lay in bed and count out loud or say the alphabet to prevent myself from dozing off. Apparently that frustrated one of my babysitters and she used to tell me that if I didn't fall asleep quickly that the "horny grino" (no, I'm not kidding, that's what she called it ~ I always envisioned it as a scaly beast with rhino horns all over it) would come out of the closet and get me.

Did it work? Yes ~ I would tightly close my eyes and be too terrified to murmur a sound! Did it traumatize me? Just a little ~ in fact to this day I can't sleep in a room with a closet unless the door securely shuts. (No, I'm not kidding about that either, believe me, I wish I was!) I really sympathize with the kids that are terrified of monsters in Monsters, INC! What kind of mother am I? She won't even be able to shut the "horny grino" in the closet so he can't come out and get her.

But then I thought, "So maybe I'm helping my daughter?" Sure, that's what I'm going to tell myself, "I'm helping her to never have such a wierd phobia!" (If that is what it takes to make me feel better ~ I sure think the room is prettier without those doors there! Besides, we need to be able to admire the green that I so painstakingly painted in the closet...)

But just in case, you will never hear the words "horny grino" come out of my mouth within earshot of our little one!