Rearranging furniture

This weekend, we moved the furniture. Nothing major, really. Just flipped the television to the other side of the room, and the couch and coffee table followed. Moving stuff around as a couple is great, since each member can focus on the appropriate personal skills. In other words, he took charge of the cable management, while I busied myself with dusting and vacuuming every newly revealed surface.

I love rearranging furniture. It started when I was very young - too young, in fact, to do the job without asking a parent for help. When my physical strength increased to the point of independence, I was able to push a cleared-out desk or the empty shell of a chest of drawers across the floor to its new resting place, thus recreating my childhood bedroom. I still remember that satisfying whir of wood on carpet. It represented a new outlook unfolding.

These moves change the fundamental nature of a routine life. Suddenly, the television screen is visible from a new angles. On my way to pour a cup of tea, I'm aware of an attractive corner that was previously covered. A bookshelf looks all the more delicious on the opposite wall, its content all the more appealing. I again gain appreciation for a collection of DVDs that had become monotonous.

Eventually, the novelty wears, and the new arrangement becomes everyday. Not a bad development, however - it just means it's time to move the furniture again.