It is Saturday evening and I’ve shirked my normal mom-duty of dishes onto the kids (who are earning money for a project I’ll tell you about soon). Instead of working, I’ve retreated into a corner and curled up in a cozy ball on the dining room couch with my laptop, to-do list, and puppy. This is my happy place.
Okay, so technically this isn’t my space, it is the entire family’s as you can tell by that insanely messy photo from last year. I have an enormous mahogany desk in my bedroom where I imagine I should be working now, but I love this spot here in the dining room despite the mess. The light is pretty, and I can see all of the activity of the house.
My entire family seems to have claimed this same room. We could easily spread out for our lessons and games, but instead, we choose to be here in the dining room. My youngest has a “hideout” under a side table where she squirrels away her treasures and hosts dolly tea-parties, my son and daughter do their school lessons on the table, and here I am, in my corner.
I guess it is a good sign; a sign that we work well together and enjoy one another’s company. By hanging out in the same room we gain insight into what makes one another tick. We get to share one another’s discoveries, and help is always only a moment away when we need it.
Of course, working in close quarters does have its down side. We often have to request a volume adjustment, and as a result, we tend to do a lot of apologizing. Humor is required when one child’s oil paints drip across another’s history essay, but as a homeschooler, I can declare that the assignment is much improved with a bit of color.
Did I mention that our front door opens directly to this dining room? Drop-in guests always get a full view of any projects in-process and I need to stay super organized to avoid the chaos of that photo by finding ways to get everyone’s stuff quickly re-boxed, re-shelved, and re-placed before each meal. Maybe I should just give it a new name and call it the everything room.
In close quarters you gain something significant, a closeness that has little to do with the physical nearness of the rest of the family. Chaotic comfort.
I think I’ll stay here in my corner of the dining room a little while longer.
This is a wonderful room. So much creativity going on. Your kids will have great memories! Not everyone has a tepee in their living room. I was expecting you to say that’s where you curled up… (;