When is a gate a cage?

When J was a baby, I painted up a crib that my great grandfather had made. I can remember my youngest brother sleeping in it, though not vividly.

This crib was made with a solid bottom and sides and top were simple frames with screening in them...no slats to get baby's head stuck between. I cleaned the screens and painted the frame light blue.

I have no recollection of where that crib went to after J outgrew it, which was pretty quickly, as it was a fairly small piece of furniture.

When my siblings were little, C and M at least, there was a wooden playpen for them (singly) to play inside the house. When Mom wanted to work in the yard, she had a wonderful folding fence that opened out scissors-like and was long enough to make a good-sized 'playpen' right on the grass. Mom joked that the neighbors must have thought of it as a cage for the children, but I think it was a terrific way for the children to start on their "peck of dirt" and be outside in the air without being in harm's way.

We had a folding playpen for J that had soft, padded top and fabric mesh on the sides. When she was very little, much to Grammy M's dismay we made J's bed in the closet in the trailer when we were in Florida that first winter. I liked the idea of using a drawer (kind of picturesque) for a bed, but I don't think we did that.

In addition to the crib, we had a piano bench from Great Grandfather, but we gave it up in the last move. We also have a castle from a train layout that we put Christmas lights in during December. It is presently sitting atop the bookcase that holds the architecture books. The child's chair and kindergarten table are in the (barn) garage, waiting for me to paint the chair and finish painting the table; they should go well on the patio when it gets "roomed".