On this blog I spend plenty of time talking about my kids, and I seem to have no problem blathering on about myself and my projects, but very rarely to I give any airtime to the person who makes it all possible. Even the cats get more mention here than my poor husband does.
So in an attempt to make up for that in some small way, I wanted to share a bit about the cozy office that Don has carved out for himself. This is what might be considered the anteroom to the garage - it's carpeted, but not heated, and is technically open to the rest of the garage. Last winter we had the brilliant idea of hanging an enormously large and thick quilt (made by Don's mom from old t-shirts) from a shower tension rod across the opening between this space and the garage-proper. Adding a small space heater and keeping the interior door propped open to the rest of this house keeps this area warm and toasty even on the very cold days we've had this winter.
Don has had this table set up as a desk for quite some time, and this has always been his space where he's done schoolwork or other projects, but until recently it has suffered from a continual piling-on of stuff in transition between the house and garage and never fully functioned as a continuously liveable, workable room.
After Christmas we returned home with our decluttering-guns a-blazing, and Don set out to conquer this space once and for all. After evicting most of my vases and glassware from the built-in shelves, he found a place for all his professional materials and reference books; now everything has a proper home. (He is still patiently tolerating my stockpot and Christmas tins and a bit of barware on those top shelves - for now.)
On the wall opposite his desk he keeps a chart of his AOR (area of operations) with pins designating the SAR (search and rescue) cases or other operations he's been a part of while at this unit.
Each pin is a visual reminder of the reasons he goes to work each day.
Having this space is fun for everyone; it allows him to listen to music and spread out his work away from the kids and general bustle of our otherwise very small house, and gives him a place to focus on work when focus is required. I love the evenings (like this one) that we sometimes spend, each of us at our own computers getting our own "work" done, and popping in on each other every once in awhile to share an idea or a story from the day as we think of it.
This may be a small house, but in the (almost three!) years we have lived here Don and I have managed to find surprisingly functional extra space for our work and hobbies, and for that I am very grateful. But more than anything, I am so grateful for the love of this handsome, hardworking guy who sacrifices so much to serve his family and country, and if a little office in the garage helps him do all that, then all the better.
I love you, my dear!
