A Room of My Own.

I finally have a room to call my own.  For many years, I've had to share my space. Ever since DS1 came along and I shared my bedroom at my parents' house with him (he was born 5 months after I graduated high school).  He's 23 now.

Being an introvert by nature, a space of my own, where I can get away by myself and not have to deal with people, is something I've craved.  Not that I don't love and (mostly) enjoy my kids and my husband, because I wouldn't trade any of them for the world, but there has always been this little part of me that missed having a private spot.  Something I didn't have to share if I didn't want to.

Almost 20 years ago, when DH, DS1, DS2 and I moved into an old farmhouse with an accessible attic, I thought I had that space.  Nope.  Didn't work out that way.  We ended up only living in that house for three months before we moved to a smaller, newer, house that would actually be affordable to heat through the winter.  And in that three months, I was so busy with a preschooler and an infant, plus learning my way around a new area, that I never got to set up that attic as my space.

None of the other houses we've lived in had an extra room.  Not with DH's youngest sister living with us for a while after DD1 was born (DD1 shared DH and my bedroom until she was almost a year old).  Not with moving to an even smaller house a few years later (without youngest sister in law!), and then adding DD2 to the family.  Even when we built the house at this little place here, there was no extra room to call my own.  Originally we'd planned to have four bedrooms, but ended up cutting down to three when we found out that the county would require a much larger septic for a four bedroom home (to the tune of 3-5 thousand dollars more expense) than a three bedroom one.  So DH and I decided that the kids would just have to share bedrooms until they got old enough to move out and away!

And so they did.  DS2 got to have his own room for almost four years once DS1 graduated and left for the Marine Corps.  Then DS2 graduated and went off to college far away.  At which time the girls petitioned that one of them be allowed to take over his old room (and repaint--more on that later) so they each could have their own room until moving out.  Since DD1 is only one grade younger than DS2, DH and I told them they would just have to continue sharing for another year. DD1 was planning to go to college out of state after she graduated, and DD2 would have the room to herself then. Besides, DS2 needed somewhere to sleep when he came home on breaks and for the summer.

DS1 finished his active duty time with the Marine Corps last fall, and he changed his legal residence from Michigan to South Carolina.  He definitely won't be needing his old room at this little place here.  DS2 is in his second year of college 500 miles away.  Last summer he did not move back home for the summer break, instead he found two jobs where he was and rented a house with some other college guys.  This coming summer, he will either be working an internship who knows where (most likely not anywhere close enough to this little place here to need his bedroom here) or he will again work where he is and split a house with friends.

The time has finally come for me to have a room of my own!!

For the past couple of days, I've been moving things around, and out, and into, the bedroom that my sons used to share.  It no longer holds beds.  The only dressers are full of fabric and quilt batting.  The desk DS2 used to study at holds my sewing machine.  Next to it stands my grandmother's old sewing machine that was recently inherited.  My ironing board has it's own place where it can stay up all the time, instead of having to be folded and put away after each sewing session, then taken out, unfolded, and set up when needed (which, honestly, made it really hard to grab a quick sewing fix when I found myself with a spare fifteen or twenty minutes).

And my new knitting stuff fits in the room too!

There is still more finalizing of what to put where that needs to be done, but I did take a few pictures this afternoon.

DS2's binders have been removed from his bookshelf,

and my sewing, quilting, crochet, cross stitch and knitting books moved in.

The designated ironing area,

complete with fallout shelter sign.

(It actually belongs to DS2, but I'm leaving it up 

since this room is going to be my refuge.)

a dresser for fabric, not clothes

a sewing machine with a view

(of my garden).

It feels good to finally have a room of my own.  The fact that it's camouflage doesn't bother me.  I painted it that way (at the boys' request) when we built the house.  It took a long time.  It's staying camouflage until DH and I retire and sell the house. Whoever buys it can repaint.

Besides, its probably the only camo fallout shelter sewing room in existence.  Quirky is me.