We have a wonderful bread machine that was an impulsive purchase from a few years ago. When we first made bread in it, we both fell in love. For me it was the ease of kneading dough and the timed rising. I think Daniel just fell in love with the taste.

After trying three or four recipes, we started looking for a place to store the machine. That was no easy task in our old house, which really lacked storage space. In our new place, there is a cabinet for everything.

Because our bread machine is so tall, it won’t go in the kitchen cabinets but there is a big cabinet in the adjacent utility room. Perfect! Just fits!

That utility cabinet now holds five-gallon jugs of water and Dan’s insulated bags for work. The rest of it has become a catch-all for cleaning supplies, plumbing parts, paint buckets and lawn and garden doo-dads.

When I used the bread machine recently, cleaned it and tried to put it away, the space was gone. Granted, it was out for several hours making bread and soaking in the sink. Still, I was surprised when the machine spot was taken over so quickly.

Before I could store the bread machine, I had to move the battery charger for Dan’s drill, his box of ear plugs and a plastic jug.

I see blank spaces each time I move something that barely fits. For me, it’s like there is an invisible dotted line–a place holder. For my husband it’s just space and if the thing in his hand can fit, in it goes.

White space points us to the main thing

I was a graphic designer and draftsman for many years and I learned about the importance of “white space” on a page. It’s called that because most paper is white but it can be any color; it’s just blank space with no distractions on it. Look at Google’s home page for an example. All that white space creates a feeling of calm and of organization. It also makes the main thing the main thing.

Photographers and interior designers use blank space all the time. Blank space has weight and creates balance. It’s a nice way to draw the viewer’s eye to the main subject of the photo, or the room, without the necessity of always putting the subject in the middle.

A busy life needs blank spaces too. There are parties and picnics and vacations and dance recitals. Then there are long, peaceful minutes at the ironing board or the lawn mower. These are times for thought and reflection. Too many blank spaces and we think we’re bored but too few and we begin to feel the stress.

Dan and I have settled a lot of differences in our five years together. Some things, though, we’ve had to realize are simply going to remain the way they are. We’re different.

We would agree blank spaces are there for a reason. I say they are place holders.