At some point in our manly man lives we have heard of or partaken in the creation of a man cave. A place for men to go to do man stuff. According to Wikipidea, a mancave is a retreat in a home for male family members to do as they please without upsetting their wives. These activities include watching sports, gaming and pursuing personal hobbies. Furthermore, there are links on the internet explaining architectural design, etiquette and protocol for man caves. I guess I get it, once upon a time I too had those visions. For me, my idea was a place to set up my toolboxes, surround sound for the Sony play station gaming, and have all my camping gear neatly organized. In fact, my wife and children (two and four years old) were standing right there agreeing with me when we closed on the house. Seriously, who uses the garage for a vehicle? So after we purchased the home I unpacked the sign that says: “Man Cave.”
Well after only one winter here in Colorado, I thought maybe it was time to give up some of the real estate to my children. Or as my wife explained, they forcefully took over with their legos, plastic toys, ball pit, and cars. All good, I told myself, as I made some alterations to the sign and created the “Daddy Cave.”
Now we are entering the second winter and the reality of the situation was upon me. If I could just manage not to fall on a plastic ball, dislocating a vertebrae then maybe this can become a win-win. So I rolled up my sleeves and split the garage. On the cold dark side is daddy’s stuff and on the bright, heated, clean side is the new and improved children’s play land. At least they let me keep my Daddy Cave sign up.
Just an end note here. There is some fascinating information on the internet regarding man caves. Perspectives and insight are given by both “Manthropologists” and psychologists’ sharing their deep views on both the man cave and she sheds (yes, it goes both ways). Even links to architectural designs and pictures of man caves costing over $150,000.00 are available. In fact, there are sites to rent your own mancave. To end, I say each to their own. I personally can’t think of a reason why I would leave my children in the other room so I can build something. Speaking for myself, if I am swinging a hammer or using a power tool, my children are going to be right there with me helping and learning in our Daddy Cave.
Busy Dad 