A writer’s desk

Most of my possessions are no more than six years old — that’s when my life took a sharp turn. A rupture. A before and after. Notably, that’s when I moved from Brazil to Canada. It’s bittersweet to think about that time, so many dreams and hopes, so many events that have happened since. I can’t recall the exact day, I think it was a couple of months after moving. That must have been when I bought my desk. I still use it every day, I sit on it to work, to write, to read. What can be more poetic than that? For an author to put together some thoughts about a writer’s desk.

It felt like we were newlyweds

I consider my partner and I were still a recent couple then. Although we had met six years before, we were married for only three years then. But above all, we had just moved, leaving all of our past belongings behind. Like anyone beginning a new chapter in life, we were engaged in activities typical for newly married people. Our weekends were spent gleefully in activities like going out together to buy furniture.

Living on a budget

Not only that, but we were on a budget. It’s super expensive for a couple to buy everything in a house in one fell swoop. This includes, of course, items from pans, cutlery, and plates to bigger things like couches, bedroom sets, and TVs. It included also a desk for our home. My partner is the best, most generous person in the world. He knew that only one person could sit at that desk at a time… so he was really helping me choose a desk for myself. I kept saying that both of us would use it, though.

What a bargain!

So, when we entered the furniture store, we found one desk that we liked. It had really good quality, the design was beautiful, and it was not so expensive. It would fit perfectly in a nook we had in our living room. But it was even better, it had a discount because it was the one in the showcase. Who will mind a few scratches here and there? Not me. We didn’t have a car yet, but the store was just a few blocks away from our home. If we got our shopping grocery carts, and a firm resolve, we could manage to bring it home ourselves. This way we would waive the delivery fee. And that’s what we did. I know I love a bargain, and it couldn’t get better than that!

Everyone makes sacrifices in life — I respect that. We’ve certainly made ours. If you think of it, everything you own has a story behind it. In my case this was about my cherished writer’s desk. As the saying goes, you see the glory, but you don’t know the story. Take a look closely at something you use daily. What’s the story behind it? What part did it play in helping you reach where you are today?