Zones

It’s getting colder out here in the morning on the balcony. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to come out here to greet the day in solitude and be able to write. It’s funny, I was just thinking about how “space” used to be at a premium when I lived in New York, too. I had a tiny studio apartment in Greenwich Village the size of most suburban living rooms. Although the kitchen and bathroom were separate I thought I’d never get used to living in what was pretty much just one room.

But, like most New Yorkers, I adapted in time and started to use what I called different “zones”, predetermined spaces around the apartment used for specific activities during certain times of day. Since I lived and worked in the same space it was very important for me to not just sit in the same spot all day (or heaven forbid, lay around in bed which took up most of the space till I got a Murphy bed years later).

In the mornings I’d have coffee and journal at the table by the window, work at the drafting table all day, meals at the table then relax and watch TV on the bed in the evening (which served as my “sofa” until I turned it down for sleep).

That worked for twenty plus years in a space way smaller than Miss Cathy’s two bedroom condo so I’ve found that I’m using the same method of moving around through my day here in the apartment. But, as large as the space is and no matter how much re-decorating and editing that I do it still feels like Miss Cathy’s place to me-and lets not forget the fact that she’s toddling around in/out of the rooms so there is little to no privacy.

Right now, I start the day outside on the balcony, there are the plants that Chad put out here back in May that make it very inviting and the bench my Pop built years ago is a rocker so it’s comfy and relaxing. I sit out here, write, meditate and watch people as they come out of their apartments ready to start their day; late for work, rushing kids off to the school bus and occasionally there's the odd person doing the walk of shame (if I get up early enough on the weekend).

After writing and coffee it’s inside to give Miss Cathy her meds with her breakfast then off to my bedroom where I work for a few hours. I’ll come out about 1pm or so, hang out with mom a little then run errands or do something with/for her. I’ll work in the dining room on the table in the afternoon for a couple more hours while Miss Cathy watches TV, cooks or takes a nap in her room. I’ll spend the evening either in my room or in the living room, alternating where I eat my meals.

Miss Cathy and I rarely eat together and never in the dining room. It’s not avoidance so much as it’s different schedules and body clocks. She’ definitely on the early bird track food-wise and usually has her dinner by 3 or 4pm- I’m lucky if I’ve had lunch by then.


Miss Cathy, on the other hand, spends her mornings in the living room, watching Judge Joe Brown or the weather channel (got to keep up with what’s going on outside). She takes her blood sugar levels, eats breakfast and takes her meds. She’ll toddle around with a project or two then she’ll nap in her room till early afternoon. Then she’s back out to watch a little Bonanza or to talk on the phone in the living room in the afternoon before cooking something for us for dinner. We might go out to run some errands for her and a couple times she’s even taken a walk by herself outside. After an early dinner on her lap in front of the TV she retires to her bedroom around 6 or 7pm to watch a little more TV before her nighttime meds. I usually turn out her lights at 8:30 or 9pm.

It’s been a couple of months now and this seems to be the way we’ve found ourselves living together. It wasn’t discussed or planned; it just came to be as we found ourselves in this space day after day. We’re both in the “zone” she and I, each to his own and sometimes together.