Thoughts About Nesting

Why do we women nest? Possibly it's instinct. Or hormone fluctuations. Or perhaps I am the only woman I know who has infrequent nesting abilities. Mad nesting skills.

My tendency to nest began just prior to birthing my first child. I had read about it, heard women chat and joke about it, but really didn't believe in it. Until about a week prior to my cervix opening up and releasing all that it held tight for those eight long months. In that whole week I think I cleaned and organized every crack and crevice of our home. Hubs came home one day to the living room all rearranged. "And how did that couch get all the way over there?" he asked. I was supposed to be on bed rest, and had no better excuse to offer him except for "I was nesting." Hey, if it was textbook material, then I could use it to declare my innocence, right? I couldn't help myself. It was instinctual. Bed rest or not.

Nowadays, us non pregnant women refer to nesting as "spring cleaning". It's still nesting. We're just no longer allowed to borrow that term, for whatever reason. But I do. Nesting is nesting, whether one is with child or not. And my mad nesting skills have flared up lately. Super charged. I actually think they do every fall. I just have a jump start on it. That sense of being locked in and buckled down tight all winter is rapidly approaching. And I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row, and everything I need accounted for. All nested in. Last week it began with my living room. It needed a fresh new makeover. So, I played a little musical furniture and voila...new living room. Hubs caught me in the middle of the act. He just shakes his head now. Being of the male species, he doesn't much understand my nesting instincts. But he no longer questions it, either. It's a running joke between us. You'd have to read "Who Moved My Cheese?" to fully comprehend. I move his cheese constantly. It's just how I roll. (He laughs when I say that.) He's such a good husband that he even helps me when my nesting project becomes too big for me alone. Hubs is my nesting enabler. I didn't say he enjoys it. He does, however, enjoy me being happy.

Yesterday, my nesting went into overload...all the way to our sleeping accommodations. The upstairs of our house holds four rooms. Three bedrooms and one office. When we moved in, Hubs and I naturally took the largest bedroom. Our eldest has a smaller bedroom, and the younger two share a middle-sized room. (Is this starting to sound like the three little bears?) The younger two posses an incredible amount of toys..which overtakes their room quite periodically. And drives me insane, quite frankly, because there simply is not enough room for them and their toys in this one room. (I'm a natural born "chucker". I hate clutter. Is there such a condition that is opposite to hoarding? If so, I think I may have it...) So, my natural thought process, and nesting instincts, informed me of an ingenious plan. A bedroom switch-a-roo. Yesterday was rainy and miserable...no better day for some heavy duty nesting, right? So, Hubs indulged me and together we exchanged rooms with our girls. Only, it wasn't as easy as that just sounded. We had beds pulled apart, a trash pile, a give away pile; found dust bunnies from two years ago and a glass cup with some very scary residue. After a long day's work of nesting, we went to bed (in our new room, of course) thoroughly exhausted. And the girls were quite happy with their new, larger accommodations. Hopefully they don't think they'll be able to hoard all the more toys.

Hmmm....I wonder what new, fabulous makeover I can give our bathroom...

P.S. Letters To Friends:
Amy...I'm not upset that you misspelled my name. I'm not the one who picked the spelling of it, anyhow!
Phyllis...I think it's pretty stinkin' awesome that you got a drill press and dremel tool for your birthday...real women play with tools, right?! (And drive rototillers and shovel chicken poop...that's just my experience, anyway....)
Kristi...my long lost friend. If you are reading this, I have desperately tried to locate an email address for you! I am not, in fact, trying to ignore you. I shall catch up with you soon...I hope.
Kelly...I just love you. I may have to make a trip to come visit you soon...