Over coffee at dawn, we talked about our different approaches to seeing spaces. John presented this dichotomy: he is a top-down, whole-picture kinda guy; I focus on minutae. His analogy, as ever, was apt: he walks into a certain room, sees a yellow cup on a table, and sees the room in a certain way; if later the cup is removed, he will enter the room and see it in a slightly different way. I can walk into a room, and there could be a yellow elephant standing in one corner -- but I might only see that I like the color of the curtain on one window. (One of my former bosses, Ruben Patino, used to call this the Fran Syndrome; he knew it well.)
So when John wants to get the book boxes unpacked right away, because they fill one wall of what will be the Library eventually -- I don't understand; I just don't see the boxes, if I'm looking for a scissors I may need at the moment.
Neither of us like clutter, but John dislikes it more intensely than I do. We both long to create an atmosphere of serenity in this house, but I'm willing to do it slowly. John is trying to be patient, though, and I give him great credit for that.
2 comments:
How interesting, that a couple who has been married as long as you have, can sit down and have such a chat...with insight and respect.
Inspiring!
You realize it's not just spaces that you're like this with, right? Both of you? It's everything. For daddy, if one thing is wrong (the waitress's attitude), the whole is wrong (he never goes back to the restaurant).
I'm the same way. If the house is not the way I want it to be, I feel really agitated, like I can't do anything until it's fixed. Which is a horrible brain to be in when you have a child, since nothing is ever where it should be.
I can't see the scissors if the books are out of order. Mind you, the order of my books is thematic, not alphabetical (same way I arrange paints and crayons, as well as CDs... which is why Dave insisted on organizing the CDs).
Anyway. It is cool you guys still have these discussions.
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