When my wife and I were still expecting we moved into a new home to accommodate for our soon to be born son. We needed some more space, fewer stairs, and not as many neighbors on all sides (floors and ceilings included). This move was largely a good thing but our new residence was lacking some key features: lighting. I’m not sure if it is simply the floor plan or the electrical work, but much of our living room would be bathed in darkness if we didn’t supplement with some lighting of our own. These particular areas are even away from the light that might shine in through the limited number of windows we have on the walls. So we needed light.
We bought some light soon enough. Floor standing lamps with large paper shades diffusing and softening the light from the bulbs beneath. Very trendy, very pleasant, and (most importantly) surprisingly cheap. It was a match made in heaven… and then our son was born. Now he didn’t learn to crawl right away but his increased ability to move proved troublesome for our little lamps. They’ve lasted a long while. “Time out” became a word associated with the lamps. Eventually our son learned that touching the lamps was not the best idea. He learned to stay away from them. Recently though, as fate would have it, and accident occurred and left one of our lamps damaged.
While our lovely and wonderful son was going through my small collection of vinyl (he hadn’t yet learned to leave that alone) he tripped and fell backward (landing safely on his padded diaper) but, in the process, extending an arm that (you guessed it) ripped the delicate paper shade covering the lamps. Such is life. The tear is small, near the bottom, and only on one side. Honestly, we should be commended for keeping them safe from harm for so long. It is a testament, really, to our son’s ability to listen to his parents. At any rate, these wonderful lamps have seen better days. Perhaps when we next move it will be to a place that doesn’t require them for adequate lighting.