Happy Monday! I’m writing this morning from my new home office. I say “new” because I’m in here all by myself. David and I have shared an office since the summer I was pregnant with Caroline. At that time in our previous home, David’s office became her bedroom and we’ve shared a small bedroom as an office ever since. This weekend we decided that we would both work better if we changed things up.
Why this decision? Because we came to the conclusion that life as our family knows it right now is going to be like this for quite some time. My poor brain has been desperately working the past two weeks trying to figure out What Comes Next in Our World. It’s not like I’m even sitting down and thinking about it all the time. It’s just what my INFJ brain does constantly in the background as it tries to process the information I take in and look for the patterns (truth seeking and intellectual overexcitability). Last week I came to the conclusion that barring developments unforeseen, our life is going to look like this for many months to come. What do I mean by that? I mean at home virtually all the time, little ability to go out and do things, and choosing not to go out much even if things do open up to a degree.
So some of the great strategies we’ve developed over the years to make sure we function well with the three of us here all the time no longer work. Caroline has no outside activities since they’ve all been cancelled. David and Caroline can’t go out for lunch and craft shopping for a few hours to give me a break and Caroline some “out of the house” time. In addition, after thirteen years David will no longer be an adjunct faculty member at his alma mater so he will no longer be gone a couple of times a week which also gave me an introverted break. I highly doubt Caroline’s summer activities will happen this year. I’m honestly skeptical about outside activities this fall as well.
So we decided to rethink all the areas of our home to make sure they were working for us in our present situation. We decided to change the library and move David’s workspace there. I now have the office to myself. It’s for the best, but it feels very strange.
That’s how we spent the end of last week and the weekend – moving all sorts of things around the house and ordering the things we were going to need for this “new” life so we could either have them delivered or pick them up curbside.
We moved my craft table from the basement to my office. We moved a bookcase from the library to the office so I now have three in here. I have most of my children’s books in the office as well as my books about simple living, homemaking, parenting, homeschooling, and favorite classics. It really is quite cozy and I like it other than it feels very weird to be alone, like I have somehow banished David to another part of the house. That’s not the case and he’s so adaptable that he’s perfectly happy with whatever we decide will work. Even with that thought, it still feels sad and a little weird.
However, David will be far more productive and I will be far more productive if we aren’t sharing an office at this point. That’s just reality.
So my goal for the week is this:
Goal 1 – Finish organizing my office. I have piles of books, homeschooling materials, and craft supplies I still need to get sorted, moved around, and organized. If I only accomplish this, I will be happy.
So what are you working on this week? I hope you’ll share a comment and let us know! There is a large section of homemaking ideas and lists in my shop under All Products for Women.
Have a happy week!
Artwork: “Flessig Appliquee” by Albert Anker