The Mystery of the Man Cave

As anyone who has watched a few hours of HGTV will tell you, a few recurring themes seem to stand out. Couples seem to think they will spend a lot of time engaging in simultaneous tooth brushing and thus must have double sinks or they will simply perish. An alarming amount of women proceed to swoon and obsess over kitchen updates, while the men insist they need something known as a "man cave". So what's with the man cave? Why do they need to go back into the cave? 

Now I finally get it.

Just the other day, I was setting up a cute little heater, some throw rugs, and lighting for my son and his friends in our fairly clean garage. As I settled into this new space to work on a Halloween costume, I thought--wow, this is nice. Finally, a space that was really isolated from the ever present neighbors and associated sights, smells and sounds that seem to be driving me nuts...I felt quite relaxed and realized I had finally discovered the secret of the man cave!-- It's called "hiding out".

I had meant the space to be a "kid zone only", but as I enjoyed my alone time more and more, wheels were spinning-- how can I make this into an art studio? How can I make it even better! So I plugged in a radio, added more lighting. Then came the power strip, plugging in a little electric stove, and I just couldn't stop myself from vacuuming. Yes, I had to vacuum the garage too...

And then as quickly as it began, it was all over. I completely blew out all the power in my lovely "garage kid zone/ women cave". No matter what I try in the fuse box--I can't find the switch to reset it!! Now there is "no cave" at all, (well unless you like it all natural and want to add a fire pit). I should have stopped while I was ahead, and left it for the kids.

But alas, I did discover the mysterious allure of the cave....