Monster in the Closet

This week, my toddler and I have been cleaning an abandoned house that belonged to my Great Uncle. It is an older home with many doors, closets, and hidden goodies. A toddler's paradise and a parents nightmare would adequately describe it.

My son is the forth generation in our family to play within these walls. Each moment spent is full of laughter and uninhibited enjoyment.

To preserve the house contents and the safety of my child I chose to keep the uncleaned rooms shut off and open them as I go. Doing this allows my son to play in the areas that I know aren't harmful. For him, it provides the excitement of a newly introduced play room with each cleaning trip.

Generally I can hear him playing (he likes to turn everything into a drum set) so if there is noise I know he is ok. On this particular day I found myself experiencing complete quiet for several minutes.

Worried, I called his name. The lack of a response really had me concerned. I searched the entire house and outside with no luck.

Retracing my steps I opened every door. Strangely, I tried to open a closet door that was resistant. I pulled harder and it was still difficult to open. Each time I tried to open it would slam shut. I did this for a few seconds until I heard a big bolt of laughter coming from inside.

There he was hiding in the closet. MY LITTLE MONSTER!

The closet later became one of his favorite places to play. To make the space more entertaining we filled it full of ties, hats, and added a suitcase.