Space by Karen Pilarski

Space. What everyone needs and wants at times. It could be physical space. Perhaps tight quarters has led to heated arguments and hurt feelings. Living or working too close to someone has caused others to think they have no privacy or life of their own.  I know how my step kids feel. They are with us everyone other weekend and we live in a two bedroom apt. For awhile they were sharing a bunk bed. Granted, they are not with us 24/7. There was no space for them to add personality to their room. It looked like a couple of little kids lived in there. A broken green rocking chair, dusty toys with strings of cobwebs stretching across them. Disney globes, broken and dirty. The apartment became too crowded with stuff.  An ugly painting, sport equipment from 1990. No one felt they could even breathe.

Everyone needs emotional space. Maybe a relationship is exhausting or becoming dull. Problems left unsolved start showing signs of cobwebs and dust. Love's shine of lust and excitement may start to lose it's luster. Too much time spent together or apart has caused a type of rift that needs mending and some T.L.C. Less of "what will be" is replaced by "what could have been." The mind wonders to a place far away and sometimes in another lifetime. Thoughts  never thought were possible start seeping through the rift and into the lover's soul.

During these stormy and unpredictable waves of self-doubt the need for personal space is evident. The silence on the phone isn't a sign of trouble. The quiet dinner together doesn't mean something is amiss. Maybe the person just needs some solitude to think and remember the brilliant shine of love's luster. Time is needed to take out meaningless thoughts and objects that are no longer important and that take up too much space. Room to stretch out and catch one's breath.

Time heals all wounds both spiritually and physically. In a blink of an eye sick person either gets better or worse. While illness brings people together it can pull them apart. There needs to be space to rest up and gain energy. When moral support and warmth is needed, they will let you know. Heartache is the same way. The heart takes time to mend. Not just heartache from love but from life's ups and downs. All people need is just a little space.