a room of my own.

So life here in a house of 9ish people is amazing. I say 9"ish" only because on any given night of the week there may or may not be one or more additional people staying in the house. It's great, though. I love people and kids and noise. It's kind of like being an RA, actually. I thought that especially true this evening when the two eldest girls and their friend from school were sitting on my bed. We were having a heart-to-heart about the movie we'd just watched (Confessions of a Shopaholic) and how it relates to the perils of overspending and using credit cards and buying things you don't need.

And then they saw my open closet door and asked to try on all my shoes (they love shoes. there are TONS of shoes laying around this house) and we chatted on for a bit more. It was fun.

I've never had my own room before, and I have to say that it's sort of refreshing to have my own space. I'm barely ever here, but when I am it's nice to be able to listen to music when I want. Get up and go to bed when I please (usually very early to both), leave on as many nightlights as I see fit (currently two. don't judge me - I loathe the dark), and keep the fan on or off. I really like having a roommate at school because it's something like a big drawn-out sleepover, but it's actually pretty nice to get to be on my own for a little bit. I'm glad that this is the living arrangement I ended up with, rather than renting an apartment with other girls.

All of the kids here are really great and funny, especially the youngest, who yells "HI ARISSMA" every time I see her and then chatters on about various things. In church on Sunday she yelled hello and then went on to tell everyone around us about how I'm living in her house. Mrs. Coulter told me last week that the neighbors often ask, in reference to this youngest girl, "how is the empress today?" She's very demanding.

Never having had a large immediate family, it's awesome to see the dynamic. I've learned that I could never have six children, especially not if the person I end up marrying were to have a job that would require him to be gone for many hours of the day at odd times, and sometimes have to pick up and go back to work at a moment's notice. I've also learned not to leave anything you don't want to go missing at a level that can be reached by a 3-year-old.