I have two more days until my month long vacation month of July, so I’ve been cranking out work so I can get to my sweet playtime.
I was looking around the house yesterday at all the things I wanted to do the house. I looked at the dusty blinds, wondered how the floorboards in the kitchen had become a bit dingy, and thought back to the time I lived alone – and my apartment was neat, organized, and uber clean. *big sigh*
I thought about some quick fixes so I would not spend all of July on home stuff. I want to get more bookshelves because all five of us are head-over-heels about books. I think this is a great vice to have. I’ve been eying organizers for the various projects we have going on (IKEA finally opens on July 27!) which would help make things more orderly.
Five people can accumulate a lot of stuff, and with all the generations in our nest, it’s a lot of different stuff. I started thinking (and sweating a bit) July would become a month of scrubbing, cleaning, organizing, purging – and wanting more space – for myself – in our multigenerational home.
I would really like to have a space dedicated to my writing, coaching, and crafting – but we currently do not have the room for that. I did allow myself a five minute pity party (yup, only 5) about giving up the playroom, TV space, and crafting area so my mother-in-law could move in. With that space now being my mother-in-law’s space, sometimes the main level of our house can feel claustrophobic. The kids are spread out everywhere, nothing stays tidy for long, and at any given moment – I feel like the walls are closing in.
After my five minute pity party was over – I reassessed how the house actually felt – and not how it looked. Was it actually claustrophobic, or what it an interactive-family-love-nest that {is} …
- producing creative and thriving kids,
- allows for snuggle time at any given moment,
- open and cozy so group projects and play can take place,
- a sanctuary for an abundance of love and giving,
- a place to discover and enjoy new culinary delights,
- or a multigenerational home?
Yes, our space is all of those things – and used for all of those things.
After I wrote down three space improvements I would tackle during my free time in July (only 3 because I need and deserve my playtime), I stopped, looked around, and:
- listened to my daughter play the piano,
- watched my husband watching the Rockies baseball game on mute – while working on his computer,
- smelled a hint of the essential oil my mother-in-law left lingering in the air – before she headed to her night-on-the-town,
- and I felt my son tug at my hand when asked me to do a project with him.
All of this was taking place on the overused, always busy, a bit messy, quite cozy – main floor of our multigenerational home.
It was perfect.
I think this is a real gem! I recognize your work and I am thankful for this insightful piece.
Pingback: Multigenerational this and that… | it's a full nest