That’s what Patrick is feeling like screaming at me lately. Though he doesn’t – he is way too sweet to do so. I do deserve it, though. I made plans several months ago to move out of this room, which is supposed to be a dining room, but, functions as my office. I decided that I would give this room to Patrick so that for the boys’ last few years here, at least, they could each have their own rooms. I have been wanting to give them their own rooms for a long time and it has just never worked out.

I think we have finally figured it out, though. Mark had built me a wall, blocking off the living room from this room and so, while doorless, it could function as a perfectly good bedroom. (And it will perfectly facilitate midnight kitchen raids for ravenously hungry teens, as well.) Mark is going to give up the space in the corner of the living room where he had his desk and computer and I will set up shop there. I’ll have my desk and one bookshelf. Now what to do with the rest of all this stuff?

Well, I figured, I’ve got plenty of boxes that I still haven’t been able to unpack since moving here in 2006 – and though I’ve missed ‘my stuff’ – I have managed fine without it. So I will just add some more stuff to the ‘Lisa’s packed up stuff’ section of the basement. I will leave out important business books, industry magazines, training materials, and of course all of my My Very Own Mail supplies. And maybe a few precious books that I just don’t want to be without. And the rest will just get packed up.

So why haven’t I just DONE IT, then? Well, have you ever seen the show about those people that hoard? I’m afraid I’m a wee bit like those people. In my defense, this room has never been set up or outfitted with enough shelves or furniture that could help me organize my stuff. But I am about as sentimental as they come. So anyhoo, my stuff is quite a mess. It’s overwhelming to try to figure out where to start. I have ‘started’ a few times, but, haven’t gotten much done. Then life swings a curveball my way – migraines, sicknesses, and all the milliontyseventy obligations of family life…and then I don’t touch it for a week or two…or seven…


I am bound and determined to get this done, though. And I shall. And it is going to be so cool. The bunk beds can finally just be ‘beds’. I’ve wondered since we bought those things, years ago, what they’d look like as ‘just beds’. And the boys will have their own space and their own closets. Well, except there really is no closet in here, but, I think he’s taking the dresser.

The only thing I can’t quite figure out is how mornings are going to work. I get up every day at five in the morning. Every day. And my alarm clock is in the kitchen. And the first place I go in the morning is the kitchen. For coffee and breakfast. And there is this big open doorway….

We have discussed different solutions for this, even before deciding to give this room to Patrick. There is a door hinge in the doorway where in the past a swinging door was hung. I’m not even sure if the swinging door is still here. I think Mark might have said it’s still in the garage, but, a swinging door would not give Patrick much privacy, I don’t think.

We’ve also discussed installing a sliding door, because there really might not be enough room for a typical bedroom door. I was thinking of those kind of sliding doors they made in the 60s and 70s, that actually slid into the wall. One of our friends, though, had suggested a sliding ‘barn’ door. Really. A barn door. Well, ok, they are for houses, but, they are made in the same style and fashion as a barn door. Mark thought that was a pretty good idea.

So we will see what happens. I expect that Patrick will just have a door-less room for a while. He could do what I did during the summer when I needed to work and make sure the little girls stayed out. I hung a beach towel across the doorway. The girls knew that if the towel was up, Aunt Lisa was not to be interrupted. I may have to loan him my beach towel for a while. Heh.

Wish me luck and motivation to get this done!

P. S. Patrick insists that I add to this post that ‘door hinge rhymes with orange’. So …there ya go. Door hinge rhymes with orange.