So lately I've been having these conversations with myself. Mostly in the evenings when I'm painting the "office" which, by the way, I forgot how much I really hate painting. I mean, for a girl who's moved as many times as I have and who loves to have color on her walls, I really dislike painting. Hiring painters last summer when we bought the house was the best investment we made. Too bad we chose some colors in a hurry and are already itching for a change....Although after this switch up, I don't see much of that happening for a while.
Anyway, as I've been puttering away on the office I've been having these conversations in my head. What? you don't have conversations is your head? Not ever? Not even in very bad French? Huh, well, I do. It probably a sign of something, but I'm too busy to worry what that might be. So these conversations go like this.... (imagine the voice over guy from action movies)
"Two kids, two pets, two work at home parents...1 summer vacation. WILL THEY SURVIVE???"
I've been wondering, if you can't tell, how this whole thing is going to work. Who works when? who plays when? How does the balance work? If anyone out there is in a similar situation, I'd love to hear some advice.
Will and I work pretty well together. Sure there's a lot of opinions, but generally we get things done quickly and with a good laugh or two, and really, we compliment each other. I'm orderly (I know, you would never guess!) He's...not. But he is better at going on the fly than I am. We're both dreamers but about different things, so I think we keep each other grounded. All of that is to say that I'm not worried about the relationship side of things, or even if we will get out shit done. I know we will, because we always do. It's more the scheduler in me. The one who plans out what will happen when for the summer. 9:00 swimming. 10:30 Library, 12:00 Lunch 1:00 Pool...etc. I keep thinking about the logistics of the when's I can't help fixating on... I guess we'll find out come Monday.
And speaking of work, the office is not done, but is habitable, which is pretty good. In fact, it's not too terribly far from done. There will be more stuff (Will is still carting things home from his desk) and more art as we find frames. I'm still pondering the white shelf issue and want to make a whiteboard for the office like the one I made in the mudroom. It's turning into the Habitat/Salvation Army office. So far we've used 1 old ladder shelf, 2 bifold doors, 4 pieces of old hardood flooring, 4 thrifted cups with new labels and 1 Craigslist chair. Everything else, except the MDF sheathing on the desk, is from around the house, mostly the basement, which sadly looks more messy even with less stuff as a result of my digging. But yeah, it's getting there. And I like it. It's nice to have a space to work that's not also where the coats and the plants and the boots live. I'm sure once Will moves in it will be messier which wont be as fun, but we each have our own space, so I guess I can't complain if his side of the desk is a mess. He swears it wont be. But I've seen his closet.
This morning I ripped apart the cork board that used to hang in this room when it was a playroom. We both agreed that we needed some kind of system for keeping track of the various jobs we'll (hopefully) have.
I dug out my leftover vinyl decals and used some dark gray paint from the bathroom and went to town. It's fun over Will's old metal desk ( I used to hate that thing but now that it fits in with the office colors, it's won me over). So now I guess we are ready to roll. Fingers crossed.