Home: A Place to Unwind

           

         After two months of job hunting, my husband has gone back to the work place.  Obviously, we are very grateful to have lifted from us the financial stress of a job loss, but I have to tell ya….. I am also relieved to simply have my old routine back! You see, I am a girl who really enjoys a small amount of alone time throughout the week.  I don’t really need it every day, but a couple hours a week is kind of nice.  I can’t explain it really….I just occasionally need that time to myself to unwind and de-stress.  Now don’t get me wrong…..I love my husband, and I do love spending time with him.  But the thing is……when he was home, by no fault of his own of course, I wasn’t able to have any real alone time in the house to unwind from my day.   Yes, we do have enough space in our house to separate ourselves and do our own things, but there is just something about having the house completely to myself that brings a sense of reflection, relaxation and retreat.  

            As the two of us have found ourselves getting back into a somewhat normal routine this week, I have found one of the perks to this normal routine is simply being able to come home for my lunch break and not walk into a manned-up space.  What’s a manned-up space you ask?  Well, that’s a term that Matt and I jokingly use to define the way he keeps the house when he is home.  You see, the hubs and I don’t see eye to eye on comfortable living.  I happen to love relaxing in a space with lots of natural light, scented candles, a cup of coffee, relaxing music and pretty throws and throw pillows.  Overall, my ideal space needs to look and feel beautiful for me to fully enjoy it.  My husband, on the other hand, finds comfort being in dark spaces, curled up in messy looking blankets, watching ESPN loudly, and having all things of necessity nearby (ie: remote, food and drink) even if it doesn’t look very pretty!!!  He doesn’t necessarily dislike the way I keep the home.  He just doesn’t need it to look beautiful in order to be comfortable.   Seeing as how I love my husband and clearly felt bad that the misfortune of a job loss fell upon him, I have gladly let him have his manned-up space for the past two months.  All the while, I was silently looking forward to the day when I could once again walk into a house that wasn’t manned-up;)

            Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to come home for lunch, open the blinds, let the sunshine in (or lack there of today due to a snow storm), light my scented candles, watch an episode of my beloved Gilmore Girls while eating my lunch, curl up on the couch with the computer, then quietly write a blog post with a cup of coffee nearby while listening to  the quiet sounds of relaxing music in the background.   I have to tell ya, it felt pretty good! 

            To me, that’s what a home should be.  It should be a place to relax.   It should be a retreat.  It should be a place that blocks all unwanted stress from the outside world the moment you walk through its doors.  I believe the home should be a place to unwind…..and that’s exactly what I’ve done during today’s lunch break;) 

The view from my bedroom window today as the snow was falling....beautiful!  Although, you can't really tell it's beautiful, because my camera isn't that good.  But trust me...it was beautiful:)