Give me room, lots of room.

When my sister Fran moved out of our parent's home, her room quickly became a sewing room. When it appeared that I was no longer going to move back to Seattle (i.e. a job, then husband, then baby), my room became an office, complete with drafting table, typewriter, etc. After sister Kathleen went off on a mission, and then moved to Phoenix (Mesa, Chandler), her room became storage/guest room. This is the natural order of things.

Times change. When Rachel moved away to college, she told me in no uncertain terms: "don't take over my room." She said this, while in the same breath she would say: "don't ask me, I don't live here." So as the big kids moved out, I strived (strove?) to keep their rooms in the same general condition that they left it in. Generally unmade beds and dirty clothes on the floor. Now they have their own places so I am pretty sure they really don't live here anymore except for an occasional holiday, or house sitting, or illness.

But now I only have one child at home, size-wise she doesn't take up much space. But to see all of her stuff spill over into the rest of the house, you would think that a half dozen very messy young children still live here. Kathleen has stuff in literally every room in the house. She does her homework in the dining room, at the kitchen, at the bar in the family room. She uses the upstairs bathroom for getting ready at the sink, but bathes and uses the other facilities down stairs. She sleeps in her room, or Rob's room if hers has to much stuff on the floor or the bed. If it is really hot, she sleeps in Sarah's or Rachel's room. Everybody's stuff is dropped on the kitchen counter, so I really can't say what is hers and what is Bob's. Often she is working at the computer in Bob's office. My sewing room is no longer my own, and when I come home from work, I find her sitting on my bed, watching the TV shows I recorded on my DVR.

I don't know what planets are out of alignment, but the whole natural order of things is upside down.