My Own Space

For the last 3 years, my daughters have shared a bedroom. This has gone very smoothly but my oldest daughter declared this summer that she wanted her own bedroom. We consulted with her 4-year old little sister, who had no objection. So, over Labor Day Weekend, we moved her into our "guest room". All of this is fine, except besides being our guest room, it provided storage and a built-in desk, which served as my scrapbooking office and workstation. Was I ready to give this up?

The truth is, that built-in desk had become a place to collect "piles"... Piles of receipts, pictures, memorabilia, orders, etc. I wasn't really using it as it's intended purpose, a workstation. When did I have leisurely time to work on my scrapbooks, anyway? I found I was only working on my albums during workshops or weekend getaways. So giving up that space wasn't hard (especially when I realized my daughter would have a designated place to keep and complete her homework!)

Then on that first day of school, when I said to myself (well, honestly, anyone who would listen) "what am I going to do with my extra time?", my mom said to me "Think of all the scrapbooking you'll get done now!" Ooooh, that's a great idea!

...wait, I just gave up my desk! And this is the perfect time to have a space where I can spread my stuff out and leave it there - ready and waiting for the next day. I didn't really want to always leave it on the dining room table or in the play room... too tempting for little hands and appears cluttery. What I needed was my own space. So, I did the unthinkable. I asked for a corner in the "man-room".

My husband doesn't ask for much. In a house with a wife and two daughters, all he asked for when we moved a few years ago was one room that he could decorate and where he could put all his CDs, books, fishing memorabilia, musical instruments, etc. He has let me decorate everything else in the house - and even let me advise him on colors and curtains in the man-room. So I delicately stated my plight and asked for my little space... even showed him the project table I wanted to buy and put in my corner.

Like I so often do, I overreacted. He was happy to share the space and happy that I was ready to set up an area where I could work on this hobby that is so important to me. We're working on rearranging the furniture in the man-room to make space for my table. So although my own space is small, realizing that this endeavor is as important to my family as it is to me was worth asking for it. And honestly, I'll probably spend more time in the man-room than he does. He'll learn, like I did this last month, that you don't miss the space you have until it's gone!