PRESSED

Space Bonus

PRHPRESSED

ogistics. That’s the buzz

Lword of the day.

Having been confined to our homes this past year, we all know the value of logistics – “the organized coordination of people, facilities & equipment to achieve the best results.”

I don’t know how good your results have been, but the term “Bonus Space” has taken on new meaning for all of us.

For those HGTV home show lovers, we know the meaning of bonus space. Whether it’s under a pergola or up on the roof, a go-to-getaway is a dream come true if you’re buying or selling your bricks these days.

But there are only so many bricks in a row home. If you’re lucky enough to have a vacant room or two, you’ve definitely transitioned it into your own sacred space. Space you can use to work, think, organize. A place where you can join Zoom for an online meeting or keep your telemed appointment with your doctor’s office. Yes, the times have changed. And as we have in the past, we’ve risen to the task of making it work.

As kids, our bonus space was the front steps. A finished basement meant your mom hung a shower curtain to separate the front of the “whitewashed” concrete space from the washer & dryer in back so you had a spot to play Colorforms when your friends came over.

For almost an entire year, we’ve been sharing household space with the ones we love. Morning, noon, night. Every hour of every day. Working, school, cooking, eating, watching whatever occupies your big screen at any given moment. From breaking news to Moana to sports with no spectators and the Price is Right with no “come on down!”

Bonus space is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. If you’ve been quarantining with the ones you love, you understand.

Dawn and I are used to sharing space. We shared a bedroom as kids. Vacation homes. Family homes. Offices. But publishing a magazine under the same roof is no easy undertaking. Dawn spends most of the day talking to clients. While I spend most of the day in search of solitude so I can write.

“Can you cut the conversations down a little. I can’t think,” I repeat day after day. “I need a bonus room,” I huff as I stare into the refrigerator for the 10th time before noon. As if little elves replaced the days-old meatloaf with banana cream pie while we slept.

‘Sit in the kitchen while no one is here. There’s your bonus room,’ she laughs.

As we scramble to keep our sequestered selves sane during these unprecedented times, we’ve come up with a few guidelines to get you through these Covid days of companionship while stuck indoors.

If you head to the backyard for some fresh air and your neighbor is already outside, go inside! Whoever gets there first, stays there longest! It’s an unwritten rule of rowhome living.

The FedEx deliverer doesn’t care what you defrosted for dinner. He may be the only one ringing your doorbell for the last 10 months, but he doesn’t have time to chat about your chicken.

Exercise. Dawn does her workout while talking to clients on her cellphone while I attempt to write in my bonus space kitchen. ‘Hey, I don’t know what to tell you,’

by DORETTE ROTA JACKSON

she says after catching me staring in disgust. ‘Eat another muffin and get happy.’

Facetime is not a replacement for phone calls. I see her face flash across the screen of my phone. ‘I’m trying to call you,’ Dawn hollers down while I work in the bonus basement. ‘And I’m trying to ignore you,’ I answer each time. Facetime? Seriously?

No, I did not see your facemask. In addition to keys, phones and glasses, facemasks have been added to the “must haves” before you leave the house. Dawn loses all of the above on a daily basis so maybe it’s a good idea to keep things together in your own bonus space.

‘Siri – turn on the flashlight.’ Dawn’s daily ritual to find the earbuds she loses under the couch every day. Just a tip in case you didn’t know that Siri will turn on your phone’s flashlight if you ask her.

Get dressed every morning. Dawn gave me ‘leisure wear’ for Christmas. Instead of my usual leggings and Temple t-shirt, I now have a lovely forest green sweatsuit that is as great for lounging as it is for answering the door for the FedEx delivery.

Keep your sense of humor. If you find yourself at your wits’ end, Facetime Dawn. She’s always good for a laugh or two. If she doesn’t answer right away, she’s probably searching for her earbuds with Siri. So, call back.

From our cloistered house to yours, we wish our RowHome family a very happy, healthy, return-to-normal New Year. Be kind to one another. We can get through this together. PRH