I am in the middle of an exciting process. Now that my youngest has moved out on her own, I am renovating her old bedroom into my art studio. A friend of mine was mortified that I would do that. She is the type that, although her adults kids have not lived with her for about 8 or so years, has never felt that it would be right to make their old bedrooms into something that is functional for herself. I completely understand how she is connected to them on such a level, but, frankly, that is not me. I come from a place of understanding that if you let a room become stagnant, that stagnant energy creeps into the rest of your home, your relationships, your work and so on. So it is time for me to claim that space.
My partner and I were talking about what we will do with the bedroom that his son currently occupies. His son is still in University, so it will be a few years down the road yet. But we have plans, so hopefully he will not end up being a professional student. As we were talking I realized that there are actually a number of rooms that are just mine. I have 2 rooms in the basement for my work area. I spend a fair amount of time in the dining room reading and beading. And now I am taking over my daughter’s bedroom. While it might seem that this is quite selfish of me, I assure you it is not.
You see, I have been using a studio space in the basement…sort of in the furnace room…for the last 4 years. There is no light there. The space is cramped and my studio table usually ends up with all sorts of work room tools piled on it. Every time I go to work in the studio, I end up having to clear off the table of debris that I never set there. Once the table is in the studio upstairs we will be installing shelves for storage, making that basement space much more functional as well, and if someone (I am not naming names here, LOL) wants to pile stuff where it does not belong, he can just have at it and it won’t interfere with my art work…which, by the way, is a part of my work. I sell my art and the jewelry that I create. It is a passive income, yes, but still an important part of my work.
Even though I also need more closet space for my multitudes of outfits, and even though I have enough bling to adorn a Persian Prince, both of which are sort of “extravagancies,” I do actually need a functional art studio to do my work. If it sounds to the reader like I am trying to convince myself of this, well, there is a wee bit of truth to that. You see, I am not used to having things just for me. Being the youngest in a large family with a low income, everyone had to share and source their stuff with each other. In a way it was looked upon as selfish to even want a bedroom of your very own, let alone clothes that were not previously worn by another person…or two….or three. I am now in my mid 50’s and just getting used to having my needs met. And I find myself feeling extremely blessed that I have a partner who encourages me to have them met. We are good for each other that way.
So my invitation to you, the reader, is that you begin your own journey of claiming space. Because sometimes sacrificing for the sake of others in your home simply means that those others get used to you never having your own needs met. And that can lead to a whole lot of grief.