It is now 2 weeks and a day since the movers and we arrived at our Florida place! And what a whirlwind! We unpacked and sorted, made 2 trips to Ikea, and delivered ten loads of kitchenware, linens, and books, etc. to Goodwill continuing our downsizing from a 4-story home to a spacious 2-level townhouse. And we thought we’d given a lot of books away on the west coast—and we had, hundreds of them.
Now I’ve had the pleasure of arranging our remaining books, quite a few, on the shelves. Deciding which books should be downstairs on the den shelves, which on the common shelves in the 2nd floor loft area and which ones in my, note that, my, study. I found old favorites like Cold Sassy Tree, thought-provoking and insightful books like Mary Catherine Bateson’s Composing a Life, and the perturbing but elegant memoir, An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. As well as many books I have not yet read. Some of these get prime, front and center space on the shelves, to remind me of their presence and to nudge me to make the time to read them.
Almost as long as I can remember, I’ve had a desk of my own, from the time I was about seven or so, with drawers in which to secret away pens and papers and stuff. In our various houses, I’ve generally had some sort of space for my desk and a few shelves for favored books. On Thayer Road, that desk was in a room my spouse and I shared and each of us had a desk facing the window separated by a file cabinet. In the Bethlehem house, he had a generously-sized study and I had the servant’s cubbyhole. It was connected to a bedroom, but had room enough for a desk, file cabinet and chair, with some lovely old-fashioned built-in cabinets and blessedly, a door. Cozy, but functional. In San Francisco, the top floor was wide open space and I claimed the smaller end of this room for its windows and its peephole view of the bay. My spouse had more space (he has more things), but less of a view. I think I won out on this one!
Here in Florida, I have a room that was a bedroom, now my study, all to myself. I have my working desk and computer, a desk chair, a tripartite bookcase seven shelves high on one wall, two file cabinets, and a very simple table-like desk with just a center drawer. This simple desk is where I write personal notes or work on my laptop. There is a window and a door and the whole thing is just heavenly! I truly have “a room of my own.” My husband says I can close the door and write a novel. I probably won’t do exactly that, but I will revel in the space, the quiet, and possibly be inspired to do more than just write this blog!
