Creating a space for thought

I'm writing my first post from my new office. Well, let's be honest. It's a bedroom in a house. But as far as I'm concerned it's an office. It isn't finished yet, but it is beginning to come together and I thought I might as well start breaking it in. I have three bookshelves in here so far, and more to come. I've got a desk and some sets of plastic drawers and a printer and, by golly, this is going to be one heck of a writing room once I'm through with it. I'm creating a space for myself to think and dream and write in, and I hope it will do wonderful things for me.

Linked from the happy news of the new office is the event which caused the vacancy of the bedroom I'm using. My brother and his wife have moved out, much to my dismay. They've been wonderful company since they moved in with me, and I already miss them a great deal. As another dear friend has recently moved out of the area, I've been thinking about friendship and about exactly why it hurts when people move out of our lives. As I drove down a winding country highway at about eleven thirty on Monday night, I had a thought that has lingered since then. In the movie Shall We Dance?, the character Beverly (played by Susan Sarandon) asserts that people get married because "We need a witness to our lives." I think the principle applies to real friendship as well. Our friends are the people who witness our lives, who chat with us about the little dumb things that happen to us, who comment and inquire and participate. That's what true community is: living life alongside other people, making them feel that they are not alone.

I suppose that's all I have to say tonight. I like this room. The light is just right, which is ideal. It is quiet, which is also ideal. I think having an office will do me good.