Nesting

One realization as I’ve gotten older is how important my physical space is to my happiness, productivity, and… sanity. In college, I could happily nap on a dirty second-hand IKEA couch in an undecorated apartment with four other people playing beer pong in the next room. These days I prefer (need?!) nice lighting, comfy seating, happy plants, interesting art, excellent speakers, solid design and feng shui, and a tidy desk. It’s still largely aspirational—you should see my desk right now—but the point remains that I enjoy and find tremendous value in the creative process of making a space my own.

As of today, we’ve got just under seven weeks until baby number two is due.

Writing that out—and the fact that it is somehow February already?!—makes it feel very, very soon. So, naturally, we’ve spent a good chunk of this last month nesting and preparing the big arrival.

For us that means wrapping up our home renovation projects, moving Zephyr upstairs to his “big kid room,” redecorating a bit, figuring out new storage solutions, moving and reimagining our guest bedroom situation, and building out a special space for Zephyr to retreat to (our closet under the stairs) for when the baby is born. And it’s actually a lot of fun.

Last time around I was working full time so couldn’t really enjoy the nesting process—it was more of a mad dash to the finish line, just making the house livable after our first big round of renovations. This time I’m fortunate to have relatively open days with the free time and creative space to play. And watching Zephyr light up with each new change—his “big kid room,” new rugs, new toy storage—is such a delight.

I’ve also found the nesting experience more mentally helpful this time. It’s helping me feel a little more grounded, working with my hands and filling my days with more purpose. It’s a nice way to exert some control over my environment, knowing full well that I’ll have considerably less control for a while once this baby arrives. And maybe most of all, I’m just enjoying having tangible results from a fun, creative project that Miranda and I can own start to finish.