A Room of My Own
January 25, 2008 Inspiration
This is the new CraftSanity headquarters. Just a couple months ago it was a baby nursery and now it's my home office, complete with a whole wall of lovely custom, wall-mounted bookshelves built by a friend. I never dreamed I'd ever have "custom" anything, so to look over and see all my books filling up the shelves in inspiring rows is a real treat.
And It's estetically quite pleasing to me to be able to look over the top of my computer screen at my latest sock knitting project waiting on the hand-me-down night stand I snagged from my parents house (they know) and look out the window adorned with the bold curtians I made out of four yards of Amy Butler fabric.
However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit conflicted about the conversion of this space and the effort I've been making recently to give away most of my baby supplies. (I'm keeping the comfy glider rocker in the photo above because it's the most comfortable seat in the house and the place where I spent hours nursing my girls. I plan to spend the next phase of my life knitting and reading in that chair.)
It's a sad thing for a woman to realize she probably won't have any more babies. Those of you who have reached this point can certainly relate. There's the relief that there won't be any more dirty diapers to change and the realization of what that really means. No more babies.
Since my path to motherhood wasn't a smooth, straight road, I've decided not to push my luck. I'm extremely grateful to have two healthy girls who sometimes challenge me with their mischievious ways. Wednesday was one of those challenging days when Abby was moved by her creative spirit to give herself an impromptu makeover. Jeff was making dinner and I was on my way home from work, when Little Miss Abby went to town on her hair with a pair of safety scissors. Apparently she decided she'd had enough practice cutting paper and was ready take it to the next level.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
The results were heartbreaking. I mean, my gosh, she gave herself a half mullet. (No offense to any mullet enthusiasts out there. I sported this look in 6th grade and have regretted it ever since. But if you craft, we'd likely hit it off no matter what your hair looks like.)
I considered posting photos of Abby's extreme hair makeover which I carefully documented (like I do most everything else that happens in our house), but decided to reserve the numerous photos of her and the piles of brown hair I found around the house for her private scrapbook. If she wants to release the photos to the world when she's older that will be her call. The beauty of the situation is that she knows cutting her hair was a bad thing, but thankfully she doesn't feel bad about how silly her hair looks. I'm so glad. The last thing I'd want is for her to feel bad about her appareance. I wish there was a way to bottle up that oblivious joy.
I tape all my podcast interviews in this room sitting at a big clunker Steelcase desk that my father-in-law rescued from the trash. (I don't think he has any idea how much I LOVE this gray metal desk.) I love that desk even though there are plenty of reasons not to love it. First off, it's gray. It's kinda banged up and it's really loud. I open drawers to the sound of scraping metal and if I happen to kick the desk or bump it with my chair when I sit down, it responds with a vibrating boom.
So it's not the best desk for a mother with two darlings sleeping down hall, but there's something charming about the clunkiness of it. I love the fact that it was free and that it's not rusting in a landfill somewhere. But the best part of owning this desk is that it has a history. Someone else sat at this desk and probably had grand ideas like mine. (We all think our ideas are grand, right?) I want to write books and letters at this desk. I want to sit here and interview famous artists and crafters. I want to sit here and day dream about all the fabulous possiblities I can imagine... but not before I make sure all the scissors in the house are locked away.
Do you have a room or creative space of your own? I'd love to see it. Post a photo on your blog and leave the link in the comments section below.
|