September 2, 2026
Dear Journal,
Today began with a very serious announcement.
Well...at least I thought it was serious.
Peanut was stretched out in the middle of the living room floor, Kiwi was hanging upside down from his favorite perch, and the Quackers were conducting what appeared to be a very heated discussion about a cracker.
Then Gracie came through the front door.
A moment later, the room got noticeably cooler.
"The Ghost of Maybelline has arrived!" Kiwi announced.
Maybelline floated through the wall.
"I heard we're having a meeting."
"We are," I said. "And it's an important one."
Everyone gathered around.
I explained that we needed to start thinking about the back bedroom.
The idea was to clean it up, remodel it, and turn it back into a proper bedroom and nursery so that Hayley will have a nice place to stay overnight when the baby arrives, if she needs to.
Everyone nodded.
Peanut immediately looked concerned.
"Does this mean we're actually going to have to clean?"
"Yes," I said.
She sighed.
"I was afraid you'd say that."
We started by making a list of everything that needed to be done.
Clean out the room.
Sort the boxes.
Move the furniture.
Clean the walls.
Paint.
Fix anything that needs fixing.
Set up a bed.
Make room for baby things.
And, most importantly, make it comfortable for Hayley.
I thought we had a very good plan.
Then Kiwi grabbed a pencil.
"I have an idea!"
That's when I knew things were about to go downhill.
He drew a picture of the remodeled bedroom.
Unfortunately, it looked like a birdhouse attached to a nursery.
"Where's the bed?" I asked.
"Up here."
"Why is the bed on the ceiling?"
"Because we're maximizing vertical space!"
Peanut stared at the drawing.
"Where is the baby supposed to sleep?"
"In the hammock."
"Absolutely not."
The Quackers decided they should be in charge of interior decorating.
They waddled into the back bedroom and immediately began inspecting everything.
One duck found an old blanket.
The other found a pillow.
Within thirty seconds, they had built themselves a nest in the middle of the floor.
"This is our office," they announced.
"It's not an office," I said.
"Quack."
"Temporary office."
Gracie had a much more practical idea.
"We should start by cleaning everything out."
Everyone agreed.
So we began moving things.
Peanut took charge of the small items.
She carried one sock into the hallway.
Then another sock.
Then she found a piece of cardboard and decided it was hers.
"Peanut," I said, "that's trash."
She looked at me.
"It's a very interesting piece of trash."
Then she walked away with it.
Gracie and I tackled some boxes.
Kiwi volunteered to help.
His job was supposed to be simple:
Take small things from the bedroom and bring them to the sorting pile.
Instead, he brought everything to the same place.
"I've created a universal sorting system!"
"What does that mean?" Gracie asked.
"Everything is in one pile!"
Peanut stared at the mountain of boxes.
"That's not sorting."
Kiwi looked confused.
"It is if you don't know where anything goes."
Then Maybelline decided to help.
She floated into the closet.
A few seconds later, several boxes came floating out through the wall.
Everyone stared.
"That's cheating," Peanut said.
"It's called having advantages," Maybelline replied.
She floated a dresser across the room.
Then a chair.
Then a box of old blankets.
"Maybelline," I said, "you're going to be doing all the heavy lifting from now on."
She laughed.
"I knew becoming a ghost would eventually pay off."
Once the room was mostly cleared, we stood in the doorway and looked around.
It actually looked pretty good.
There was plenty of space for a bed.
We could put a crib or bassinet in another corner.
There was room for a dresser and some baby supplies.
And we could make it warm and comfortable for Hayley.
Everyone became excited.
"Maybe we can paint it!" Gracie said.
"Maybe some nice curtains!" I added.
"Maybe a comfortable chair!" Peanut suggested.
The Quackers wanted a duck-shaped rug.
Kiwi wanted a chandelier.
"A chandelier shaped like a sunflower!"
"Absolutely not," everyone said at once.
Then came the most important question.
Who was going to help paint?
Everyone slowly looked at Kiwi.
Kiwi looked around.
"Why is everyone looking at me?"
"Because you made a huge mess the last time you tried painting," Peanut said.
"I was expressing myself!"
"You painted the wall, the floor, the chair, the curtains, and yourself."
"I call that immersive art."
Maybelline floated beside the wall.
"I could probably paint the ceiling."
Gracie smiled.
"I'll help with the walls."
"I'll organize the nursery," I announced.
Peanut nodded.
"I'll supervise."
"You're not supervising," I said.
"Fine. I'll supervise from the bed."
The Quackers quacked excitedly.
"We'll test the crib!"
"No," I said.
"Quack."
"No."
"QUACK!"
"Still no."
By the end of the afternoon, we had a plan.
Tomorrow we'd start cleaning and sorting.
Then we'd figure out what needed repaired.
After that would come painting, decorating, furniture, and finally getting everything ready for Hayley and the baby.
We all stood there imagining what the finished room would look like.
A cozy bedroom.
A beautiful nursery.
A comfortable place for Hayley to stay.
A peaceful little space waiting for a brand-new member of the family.
It was a wonderful thought.
Then Kiwi broke the silence.
"Do babies like bird whistles?"
"No."
"How about duck sounds?"
"No."
"Cat sounds?"
"No."
"Dogs?"
"No."
"Ghostly howling?"
Maybelline laughed.
"Definitely not."
Kiwi sighed.
"Well, I'm going to have to rethink my welcome ceremony."
I looked at Peanut.
She looked at Gracie.
Gracie looked at Maybelline.
The Quackers looked at each other.
We all knew one thing for certain:
Remodeling this room was going to be one heck of an adventure.
And somehow, I had a feeling the paint wasn't going to stay on the walls.
Until next time, dear Journal.
With paws, feathers, quacks, ghostly floating, and one very ambitious remodeling crew,
Lucy 🐾