A Step

We've been living in this house for 4 months now. October, November, December, January. We've had our space. The bottom two rooms are ours, each with their own bathroom, and ours with French doors opening out onto a large patio overlooking the harbor and the sea. My very first goal when I came here was to make it a home in the very sense of the word - comfortable, and relaxing. And I succeeded in the furnishing department. There was one thing I didn't complete. That was the coffee table for the loveseat in the sitting area I created in our bedroom.

We do have a living room upstairs. A very nice one. With great big tall ceilings and beautiful couches, a brand new TV, a beautiful dining set, and a gorgeous kitchen I love to cook in. But my duties - my home, are down here. The laundry, the cleaning, the shower, the school work, the computer, my desk. My duties. Me. After months and months of lamenting that my boys went upstairs the minute they woke up til' pretty much the minute they went back to sleep I realized something. Because they do that I really feel separated, I don't feel complete with my family like we used to be. Because I am not with my boys all day every day like I used to be.

In our old home we had a one story. Our bedroom was right off the living room, as was their's just down a short hallway. The dining area and kitchen was just off the living room. The living room was our central location and we watched movies there, played games there, ran around in silly tag fashion, took naps on the couch there, pretty much ran our lives there. And I've missed that. All because of a single piece of furniture. A place where the kids can sit and have toys at their eye level to design and create. A "tunnel" created by going underneath. A space to write or draw. All for the sake of "having more space to run", which was my reasoning when I couldn't find the appropriate piece of furniture I wanted.

Last night we went to Pier 1 and got this and this. They are not what I had originally wanted but they match my loveseat and work together perfectly to create the sitting area I had once imagined.

Little Man has been playing for the last half hour by my side with his bag of plastic fishies - putting them on the table, underneath the table, around the table. And he has been by my side this whole time. Not upstairs. Not playing in the living area upstairs. By my side. And now he's asking me to play a game with him. I'm loving it.