No, I’m not talking about “safe spaces,” a la college campuses. No, safe space for me is where I am comfortable at, and I can let my feelings be known without fear of repercussion or reprisal. If you’re following my FaceBook or MeWe pages, you by now have noticed that I’m sharing a daily devotion to each, and safe space was the topic for yesterday. For Christmas, I had asked for this daily devotional book, God Hears Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women, and it was on back order and arrived last week. The topic of safe places was in regards to God, but it really got me thinking.

Some people hear safe place, or safe space, and think of a bug-out location, a bunker, somewhere to hide out the impending storm. For them, there is a lot of preparation and thought that goes into the space, and they have a way to protect themselves, either with walls or some form of force multiplier.

When I hear safe space, I think of Squatch and Little Man. When I am with my two best guys, I feel safe and calm. Unfortunately, our living situation right now does not allow for that much calmness, and I frequently find myself frustrated or annoyed or on edge. This is due to us not being on our own in our own space; we are in the basement of my in-laws, and there are a lot of restrictions for what we can do. We have no control over the television (it is ALWAYS turned on), we avoid discussing our political leanings because they are the opposite of his parents (and they will not listen to anything they disagree with), our dietary choices are ignored or just ridiculed (I do not see any reason to have dessert every night, and so what if I just choose to eat the meat at a meal, at least I’m eating something that is healthy for me and not loaded with grains and sugars), and it is just a negative environment most of the time. This is not a safe space in my eyes, and Little Man picks up on the tension and negativity, and it affects him, even more so than it affects Squatch and myself.

So, I have to look elsewhere for a safe place to be able to voice my frustrations and opinions. I have amazing friends to whom I can talk to about this. Some of these friends I’ve had for years, some are new. Some conversations happen during phone calls, some over text message, some over chat on MeWe. It is so healthy to have an outlet to voice your feelings and frustrations, and I’m glad to have found some different ones. I love my husband, but it is nice to have people who are not always around me to be able to talk to.

This morning was nice, because I was in my safe space for a bit; the in-laws went to the big city for the day, so it was just Squatch, Little Man, and myself. I have truly missed it just being the three of us, and we have made it a goal to get more time, just for us, going forward this spring. What is your safe space? And if you don’t have one, what can you do to ensure you have your very own safe space?