The Lounge
It looks like a lounge room.
It just doesn't quite feel like ours yet.
Maybe that's because so much has changed. Maybe we haven't had time to make this room feel like home.
First, sit down.
You don't have to improve the room before you're allowed to use it.
You don't need to solve the family, recreate the past or work out what the future looks like.
Put your feet up if you want.
Stay quiet. Talk. Watch something ridiculous.
For a minute, you are allowed to just be a person in a lounge room.
What made the old room feel like home?
Sometimes what we're missing isn't the actual furniture.
It's what happened around it.
The people
Who sat here? Who always stole the good chair? Who made the room feel alive?
The ridiculous stuff
Bad reality television. In-jokes. Games. Arguments over completely unimportant things.
The memories
Birthdays. New pets. Visitors. Ordinary evenings nobody realised were becoming memories.
The feeling
Safety. Familiarity. Connection. The knowledge that you belonged here.
What would make this room feel more like ours?
We aren't rebuilding the old lounge room exactly. We're figuring out what deserves a place in this one.
Maybe we need pictures.
People, places and moments that remind us our story is bigger than what is happening right now.
Maybe we need games.
Something pointless. Something competitive. Something that creates ten minutes where caring isn't the activity.
Maybe we need noise.
Music. Terrible television. Laughter. A puppy causing a completely unnecessary incident.
Maybe we need quiet.
A blanket. A cup of something warm. Nobody asking a question for five minutes.
Maybe we need people.
Family. Friends. Someone who doesn't need an update before they're allowed to sit beside us.
Maybe nothing needs adding today.
Maybe we just need enough time in the room for it to stop feeling quite so unfamiliar.
The Coffee Table
A few things we might leave within reach.
This room can feel like home again.
Maybe not exactly the same home.
Some things may return. Some things may change. New memories may sit beside old ones.
Love can still live in a room that looks different.
We don't have to recreate what was to create somewhere we belong.
Where do you feel like going next?
You can also stay on the couch. Nobody has booked the room after you.
The Room With the Closed Door
Sitting here has brought up something I need somewhere private to say.
Close the door behind you →The Laundry
I'm thinking about the things that made our old life feel familiar.
Go to the laundry →The Bedroom
I'm tired. Properly tired.
Head upstairs →The Exit
Maybe I've remembered something I want to take back into my own life.
Look for a key →