It's summer time, and I'm enjoying the extra time with my kids. More accurately, I'm enjoying hearing them around the house while I've been organizing. The basement feels like a home again rather than a haphazard storage unit.
Last week, my uncle gave me a pub table with three chairs, which is actually what started the organization effort in earnest. When the table and chairs came, they went to my living room, which was the only area large enough to accommodate them but also keep them out of the way for a time. Also in the living room were a few boxes which had recently made their way from my parents' home, the last remnants of our time there. Downstairs for this last year I've had a line of shelves against a long wall, filled with bins of linens and toys, and other miscellaneous items. Leaning against the walls I also had two long tables, a desk and baker's rack which needed assembling. I got tired of having the living room filled with 'stuff' and was anxious to get the new table where it belonged. It was an overwhelming, enormous task. It's been a while since I took on something that big... I was exhausted at the end of every single day. I was also amazed at how much there was left to do and the comparatively small chunk I was able to manage each day. That is no exaggeration, I can see the end now but honestly not less than 5 times during the process I was close to tears, and praying. I needed to understand the next big step and there were so many small steps in between. It took a week, fully, and was worth the effort.
The first huge portion was weeding out the bins, taking a hefty portion of it to donate at our local thrift location. Then, cleaning up the construction leftovers. I accidently dumped paint on the floor. (I had expoxy painted the concrete so that wasn't disastrous, just messy.) Second Son helped me get that cleaned up. Once I had the floor cleaned, I painted over the splatter and started moving the reduced mass of bins around, moving shelving, setting up tables and desks. I'm about 90% finished now, I have a nearly functional work-space and it's home again. The remaining work is fine tuning. What's left is random. Things I need to sort. I'll move things from the kitchen table and out of corners in my bedroom, down to a new, permanent easy to access spot. My creative life has a staging ground again. It feels like a miracle to have it in the shape it's in, it feels like home again.
Recent life events have taught me to appreciate another blessing in all of this. The simple ability to work on my own at something. It's the blessing of a single life. I keep my children fed, happy and engaged; They come to me when they need something or have a question. We've gone out for some fun, and I needed those breaks as much as they did. But for this week, I was focused. No one feels hurt that I am not focused on them completely, no one waiting for my attention to turn to them, no one wanting to start arguments over whether or not I am meeting their needs. I had no idea how precious that was but, now it's something I will never take that for granted.
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