Guerrilla Redecorating

I was probably around nine or ten years old. It had been a normal day at school, so normal that I don’t remember anything about it. But when I came home, my world turned upside down. My bedroom looked completely different. Instead of a plain white room with mismatched furniture, I had light brown walls with a dark walnut bedroom set. I thought I was dreaming, but I couldn’t pinch myself awake. Then I thought I had walked into someone else’s room. But this room was definitely mine. I could see all my on the walls and my toys on the (new) set of shelves. Meanwhile my parents were behind me beaming. While I spent the day at school, they had been busy redecorating. It was a big surprise, and since I got over the shock, I was very pleased.

Fast forward to my college years, when I studied abroad in Spain. After an altogether too short summer and a long flight home, my sister picked me up at Detroit Metro Airport. While she was driving across the state to pick me up, my parents had been running around again, this time redecorating the living room and the dining room. They painted the walls yellow and bought some new furniture. When I came in, still loopy from my transatlantic flight, all I could say was “Wow!” Over and over. “Wow, wow, wow!” Then my mom said, “Wait till you see what we did with your room.” My stomach sank as I braced myself for a shock.

As a grown man, I wasn’t too keen on my parents messing with my old bedroom. Then I opened the door. Everything was exactly as I had left it. And while I didn’t want my parents to mess with my room, I was kinda sorta disappointed too. The rest of the house looked so fresh and new. My room seemed stale in comparison. It made me appreciate their affinity for guerrilla redecorating.

Has a loved one ever surprised you with a quick redecoration? Or maybe you surprised someone yourself? If so, let me know in the comments.