I’ve always been enthralled by the concept of a man cave. It just sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Caves are creepy and mysterious. Bats fly around in caves. They are symbols of both adventure and hiding.
What is a man cave exactly? Wikipedia describes a man cave as follows:
A man cave, sometimes a mantuary or manspace, is a male sanctuary, such as a specially equipped garage, spare bedroom, media room, den, or basement. It is not a cave but rather a metaphor describing a room inside the house, such as the basement or garage or attic or office, or outside the house such as a wood shed or tool room, where “guys can do as they please” without fear of upsetting any female sensibility about house decor or design.
My husband has the office variety of a man cave. My guess is that husbands fall into two camps: those who have office man caves, and those who have basement or garage sports-oriented man caves. I don’t know if my husband wants the basement type. Our living/family room is his sports center. That is where he watches games on his large flat screen t.v. The exception is that we mutually decided on the decor.
In his office, he has chosen the decor. That is the room that I stay out of. I rarely pick up his socks in there. That is the room where dishes may sit for a little while. It is where questionable decorative items live, if you want to call them that. For example, recently my husband took an empty plastic Folger’s coffee container from the recycling bin. He said he was going to use it to hold remote controls. Immediately my eyebrows raised up above where they usually sit on my face.
“Where?” I said.
“In my office,” he said, almost simultaneously.
“Oh,” I said, relieved. My eyebrows dropped back down to that comfortable place.
“You can do anything you want in your office,” I said.
Man caves make husbands and wives relax. Wives don’t like to hear that old plastic coffee containers will be displayed in their living rooms. Our living room is not fancy, but it is a few steps above plastic containers.
I like the idea that he has a sanctuary which in many ways boils down to a place he can go without me. I know myself well enough to know that I am a bit too much at times. In fact, sometimes think I might like a cave away from me, and I am me. I talk incessantly, I’m overly excitable, a bit hyper, silly, and a bit “all the way live.” That’s o.k., it takes all kinds to make a world. But I totally get that he needs a break from time to time.
He used to have a guest chair in his office. On the rare occasion (once or twice a day) when I visited his office, I used to have a place to sit down. I notice that the guest chair has been removed. Do you think that was intentional? 
Wikipedia also states that:
Some psychologists claim that a man cave can provide refuge from stressful surroundings and be beneficial to marriage.
I tend to agree. Everyone should have a spot to call their own, where they can get away. My space is my office. I have my computer, my salt lamp, my vision board, music and books.
So, my husband has his office man cave, and I have my office. And everyone is happy!
What do you think of man caves? Is there a man cave in your home?
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Image via Wikipedia
