My house is plenty big enough for 4 people and a cat under normal circumstances. But decidedly not during a pandemic.
My husband has been working from home since March, and he set up his workspace in our master bedroom. It’s really the only space in the house that makes sense for him to work and get anything done.
My son does his distance learning at the dining table in our open-plan ground floor. This also makes the most sense, as I need to be within earshot if he needs help.
My kids pretty much rule the entire ground floor during waking hours. They’re either doing school or pulling toys out of the playroom or running around screaming like banshees or using the TV so they’ll stay still and quiet for more than 10 seconds at a time.
Which means…I’ve lost any personal space in this house that I may have had at one time. Since we’ve been home for this pandemic, I’ve taken to using my son’s room for zoom yoga or privacy in the afternoons if I need to nap or read or sneak snacks or ugly cry in relative peace. I guess it beats hiding in the bathroom…but now that I think about it, at least I can lock the bathroom door. Sigh.
I’ve started fantasizing both in my head and to my husband about wanting a room all to myself in our next house, whenever that may happen.
Me: …you know, kinda like a She Shed, only it’d be a room in the house where I can paint. You could build it for me like Noah did in The Notebook!
H: I might grow a beard, but I’m not taking off my shirt. What’s a She Shed?
Me: You know! Like a man cave, only for the lady of the house. I need a room where I can paint or read or watch a movie that’s just mine.
H: Sounds doable.
Me: Yeah! I’d need a TV and storage for my crafts, and a couch and shelves for all my books. And a table to paint. It would be great to have like a little sink so I don’t have to leave to wash brushes and OOH A MINI FRIDGE FOR MY SNACKS. Maybe a microwave?
H: This doesn’t sound like a room anymore.
Me: Perhaps a tiny water closet with a toilet so then I wouldn’t have to leave the room AT ALL and INTERRUPT MY FLOW.
H: Let’s not talk about your flow.
Me: Doesn’t that sound NICE?!
H: …are you asking to move out?
Me: No!
H: …
Me: Well…maybe we should just look for a place with a detached guest suite, you know, just in case.
H: Just in case.
Me: And I’m gonna need a door that locks. Thanks!
Day 18
Psychobabble 
We lived in one room basically for many years..the two of us. We had so many people living with us that our room was our sanctuary. It’s large for a room nearly 500 sq feet so I wouldn’t say we were suffering, and it wasn’t during a pandemic. We meandered out to use the kitchen from time to time but almost exclusively ate in our room as well. When we got the house back to ourselves it took us forever to start to use the other rooms in our home. Now we enjoy them. A She shed isn’t a bad idea. Hang in there. :)
A She Shed is the opposite of a bad idea ;)
When I was apartment hunting, a separate space to be an “office” was absolutely vital. But then, I worked remotely even before the pandemic, so I had already figured out that having the computer desk in the living room is just awful.
You need a den. A She Den. :D
Mommies don’t get nice things.
This!! You deserve it. I just know it.
I do have an “studio” all to myself for arting in. It’s in our finished basement, but there’s no door so I put up a curtain. My youngest has the Xbox set up right outside the curtain – so the constant “gunfire” is a bit unsettling. There is a bathroom in it, but it’s the only bathroom in the basement, so everyone uses it. It’s basically the path to my husband’s tool area of the house where he and my oldest son are constantly going in and out of. Ok – it’s essentially a hallway/storage area that I put a desk and all my stuff in and if you’re looking for me, this is where I am.
So, what my awkward “mommy has first world problems” way of saying is – if you have a hallway, a curtain and a good set of headphones, you might not get what you want, but you’ll get what you need. 🤪
Ha, yup we make do with what we have. For now, it’s my kid’s room when he’s not sleeping.