A room of her own

An idea kept re-emerging as a theme back in the Spring, what I'm missing is a space of my own here in this 1,400 sq ft apartment. At first I considered reconfiguring our living room to accommodate a work space so I don't have to put every project away at the end of day to eat dinner. I realized this also went hand-in-hand with the fact that I've been longing for a place to go during the day while children are at school where I can sew, organize my photo film, scan the slides I've had of Susan Bender's for over a year or just craft my heart out, or the more important - do nothing. Virginia Wolf never got hers and look what happened. Art heard the plea and was supportive and I started bringing up the idea around friends. Well, Rowena was also looking for a space to dance. Two days before leaving for Va I went and checked out a space available downtown, the location was all wrong but the price if we had a third and the space itself was fine for the 6 months it'd be available. It's in one of the last true artists spaces left downtown, which is for sale, being cleaned=up as I write ready to hike up rents. Anyway, with much back and forth while I was in VA it worked out that we got it. Rowena said it right as I went from a room of my own, passed hers and mine, straight to three's company.

Thursday was the day - I moved in with the hopes of setting up. Art and the children helped me move a load in and drove off for a day together, it was my first day on my own in 7 weeks. I started putting the Ikea furniture together that we'd bought for the kitchen but never used. I put in on Craigslist to sell several times and every time I could not get ride of it hoping I'd have a reason to set up shop. The last person who wanted to buy it was a woman who was crafting and setting up her space, that did it, I could not let it go.

Fortuitously I forgot a box of essential parts and could not put it together, instead I pulled out the little bed roll and read my Twyla Tharp self-help book and journaled all day. It was amazing, luxurious, spoiling and altogether the best day I'd had in years. I got a new book mid-morning from Chronicle books down the street on the crafting industry and now I'm inspired to get my craft on and organize some mama crafter mornings at the space or evenings. I've also been thinking how to process the recent move out of my childhood home, set a project in motion to help me through it all. I felt so alive and tingly all day. I ended my time alone by going to a yoga class before heading back to the homestead. I've felt patience re-enter my day, I cherish more moments with my children instead of snapping out of the blue.