Ode to the old office/baby room/playroom/guest room

Yesterday I sent the last of the copy edits back to my editor. “We’re really working at the fine details, here, aren’t we,” I commented as we mulled the addition of a “now” here and the removal of italics there. It’s very satisfying to know that a project has been carefully shepherded all the way down to the finest nuance. And just like that, the builders are also dotting i’s and crossing t’s in the new office space. The tile floor has been laid and grouted. Today the electrical work gets started, and tomorrow the trim is installed. Kevin has worked hard to paint walls, ceiling and boards. By the weekend, I will be moving this desk and this computer and this chair downstairs, to my new room.

So it seems fitting to thank this makeshift space in which I’m sitting right now. This is the room where the bulk of The Juliet Stories were written. This is the room where I started my blog. Over the years that this room has served as my writing space, my desk has always been right here, facing the wall nearest the door. I can turn my head to the left and look out the window at power lines over the street, which doesn’t sound very poetical until you consider the birds I’ve seen gathering there, and the squirrels dashing like high-wire artists. One of those squirrels made it into the very last paragraph of The Juliet Stories.

My desk has always been here, but the furniture behind me has changed over the years. Not so long ago there was a crib and a change table and a rocking chair. Now there is a pull-out futon for guests and/or for cozy reading before bed (Albus’s favourite spot.) The closet is crammed with Playmobil. There is an ugly chest of drawers from Ikea to which I cannot wait to bid adieu. (Filled with dress-up clothes.) There is a homework desk, now, too; and homework gum in the tiny set of drawers that serve as my office storage area.

As we look at reconfiguring the rooms, we still have some unsolved problems. Albus will be moving in here, and AppleApple will be claming the boys’ former room, with the two littlest moving in together in what is now the girls’ room. Where will the guest futon go? Will we miss having a communal playroom with shared toys? What will our family policy be on privacy and open doors? Is it time to set up a shared computer space downstairs for homework purposes?

Furniture we’re lacking as we prepare for the move this weekend includes: a bunk bed for the little kids; mattresses; desks; storage cubbies and/or shelves. I’ve been hunting kijiji listings. It’s going to be a busy weekend, a messy weekend, a weekend of playing around with space and imagining and painting and cleaning. It likely to be an unfinished weekend. This won’t all get done in one fell swoop. But it feels like an early Christmas gift, and everyone is excited. Change is exciting. It’s the act of imagining oneself into the future, imagining what might be, what could be. It’s a good time of year for this. We’ll stir things up.

And then we’ll settle in for the winter.

:::

Also, total aside, but did I really used to have straight hair? Like, just a few years ago, as shown in that top photo? Because it’s pretty curly/unruly these days.

Last week in suppers: Halloween hangover
A little glamour for your snowy Friday morning

9 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Hey Carrie,
    I think I still have shelves in storage…I have the truck today, do you want me to bring one by? Or would another night suit better? Or have you already found an alternative? Should I stop asking questions?
    Right,
    C$

    Reply
  2. Carrie Snyder

    Dude, you read my blog? 🙂
    I haven’t found an alternative yet, and anyway, we could always use an extra shelf. But is it going to be a lot of work for you? I’ll be out with kids at swimming until 5:30, then home from that point on. What do you think? Or should I email you instead of passing messages via blogland?
    I don’t have a good nickname.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    I don’t really read your blog (bad brother!) but I do follow you on twitter which brought me to the blog and then to the shelves which jolted my mind to your earlier email that I had stored in my brain’s “to do” list under “next year.” BTW…nicknames are easy.
    El Chacherito

    Reply
  4. Carrie Snyder

    So, shelves for tonight?? We’re here!
    You are the nickname king. I got nothing. And don’t try to call me Care Bear.

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    Man, you could have so many nicknames: Care-eh-zee, Carried Away, Care-iffic, Aye Care-umba, etc. Anyway, about those shelves, I didn’t get last night’s message ’till this morning so I didn’t drop by (obviously). I am “sans truck” today plus it seems to be sprinkling a bit and well darn it, I’m feeling kind of lazy which is another way of saying that I won’t be by tonight either. I’m guessing you’ll be around for Cliffordo’s B-Day; we should make shelf plans at the party.
    The Sizzler

    Reply
  6. Carrie Snyder

    Ah, the Sizzler. That’s a good one.

    I feel like the Carrie-based nicknames are all a little Care-Bearish.

    I could go with something like Caz. (Kind of like my initials only with a little more jazz.)

    See you ce soir.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    What about Ceraclides? A riff on Heraclides who wrote about the first marathon…yeah, it’s awesome.

    Reply
  8. Carrie Snyder

    A trifle obscure, but could be a conversation starter …

    Reply
  9. Anonymous

    You mean a trifle top shelf…like how is that not already your nom de plume on your “see mommy run” blog? Ok, ok, it does sound a bit like a condition that might give you a bad itch (in that, “Can’t go out to the Pub tonight; I’ve got a touch of the Ceraclides.” kind of way) but outside of that, top shelf. In fact I’m gonna use it tonight (just a test drive, nothing permenant.)
    The Chach

    Reply

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