A Room of One's Own

I've been extra cranky this week and after some introspection I've realized that it's due in large part to the fact that I don't have my own space.  Everywhere I look, there are toys.  The smallest Tobins consume the largest amount of space in the communal areas. They each have a bedroom of their own as well as a shared playroom and they have pretty much taken over the living room.  Tom has claimed the downstairs family room as his lair and we share a bedroom so that leaves me with...the kitchen?  The laundry room?  No thanks.

While I enjoy being with the select group of people I like, I'm an introvert and crave quiet time even from the people I live the most.  As a child, my room was my sanctuary and I was always happy to spend some time alone in my room.  My toys were there and in later years, my books and my music.  Now, my stuff is scattered around wherever I can find a place for it.  My knickknacks are packed away so little hands can't hurt or be hurt by them.  My novels are shoved under the bed to make room on the bookshelves for "Pinkalicious" and "Ferdinand the Bull".  The kitchen table does double duty as my desk when we're not eating on it.  I have some serious equipment and yet my MacBook, various USB cords and the beloved Rebel are all jumbled on the table like remnants from a garage sale.  It's only a matter of time before disaster strikes in the form of spilled apple juice.

I love order and was very proud of the neat home I had before the happy chaos of children entered my life.  The household anarchy they sow has probably been the toughest adjustment I've faced in my transition from being simply Christy to being primarily Mommy.  I struggle not to scream like a fishwife when they blow through a tidy room, leaving disaster in their wake.  If only I had a space of my own, I could feel like there was a haven from the Tiny Tobin Tornado.  I guess the main problem is that we have too much CRAP.  Our community yard sale is this Saturday and I think I'm going to spend the next few nights making a clean sweep of the house.  It's time to sell all the baby gear that is gathering dust and the toys that are no longer popular.  If I get rid of enough stuff, maybe I could carve out a corner of the playroom all my own.  Otherwise, I may be building a work station in the unheated garage!