A Peek Inside the World of Eileen

There is no one quite like Eileen.  No one.  She is her own person, even when it conflicts with what I think.  Eileen is creative, imaginative, and an introvert.  She is shy until she isn't.  She is an observer of all things around her.

Words that describe Eileen: loving, kind, fun, mildly feral, with slight propensity for whining.  She is not competitive.  She is the girl on the soccer field, swaying and holding hands with a teammate while the rest of the kids fly around the field.   What I admire most about her is her ability to stay out of the fray.  She is comfortable in her own skin, doing her own thing.

Eileen lives in her own little world.  She is content to be by herself and spends hours in her room.  If you send her up to go change her clothes, you may not see her for a good hour or two unless you repeatedly hassle her.  Instead she will be drawing, playing, reading, rolling around....

The other day I attempted to go into her room.  Rather than be annoyed by the state of her room, I decided to document it as a moment in time of who Eileen is.

Frequently, it is difficult to open the door to her room.  If she is not sitting and blocking the door, something else is.  Her room is a minefield.

See the rope?  Eileen used her Goldie Blocks to rig a system that allows her to turn on or off her bedroom light from her bed.  The only flaw is that she has to decide which operation it will do.

The hanging necklaces, glow in the dark rosary, and bell?  Alarm system.
The pink thing wrapped around the stuffed fawn?  She took the cover off her alarm clock to use as clothes for the fawn.
Stuff hanging above her bed?  Clouds, a paper hummingbird.
Under her bed?  Her own personal chill corner modeled after the "chill corners" in mine and my partner's classrooms.

I can't believe how much stuff she keeps in her bed. So.many.toys. It's not uncommon to find the pooh bear adorned with random costumes, socks, winter clothes.  She has pencils, multiple books, the mickey mouse bubble wand/flashing light thing, random toys.

I'm pretty sure she purposely always slants the pictures on her wall.  Her floor and shelves are  littered with randomness.  If you look closely though, it isn't always so random.  The giant unicorn has a hair clip on its ear.  The two tiaras mirror one another with a carefully placed hatchimal reflected across an invisible line.  Symmetry.

I find peace and joy in order.  I like a clean house, free of clutter.  Eileen revels in the messiness of her life.  It's a struggle to find the balance.  I hope I am able to teach Eileen how to be responsible and organized.  In return, I hope to gain an improved ability to let go, embrace the chaos, and remember how it was to be young once.

Eileen is still a child who knows how to live in a land of make believe.  She isn't too old or too cool to pretend to be a sea turtle with her little brother, listen to stories, or truly play with toys.

I may not always understand you Eileen, but I do appreciate you.