Late last summer my youngest daughter’s best friend moved in with us to finish high school. We flipped the whole house to accommodate an extra person, making the bonus room we had into one big bedroom for them. It backs up to the family room with a door in between, so it’s plenty private for them.

The biggest TV and gaming devices reside in the family room. I don’t allow TVs or gaming in school children’s bedrooms because they really don’t need another reason to hole up in their rooms alone; they need to be part of the family. Put a TV and game device in a room and they will come.

My youngest used to spend most of her time in her room on her computer, Skyping friends, and doing craft projects. This worked well before her friend moved in because she left the door open, her room was a yell away from mine, and I was holed up in my room with the door open every evening, too.

But now, instead of my youngest daughter’s bedroom, we have an office. Because the bonus room is at the opposite end of the house, I was worried the girls would get home from school, eat dinner and I’d never see them again. They’d be like Phantom of the Opera creatures coming out only to scrounge food and spy on us for opportune moments to use the bathroom.

This set up has worked well, as they now spend most of their time in the family room. But on the other hand, it has also backfired on my husband and me. We spend very little time in the family room anymore because the kids and all their accessories monopolize it.

Early Sunday morning is usually our time in the family room, but after our usual Sunday program and a sitcom or two on Netflix, the kids are up and going and ready to take over. We don’t usually mind, it gets us motivated to work on household projects.

But last Saturday, my daughter and her friend were housesitting her parent’s house and my husband and I found ourselves alone in the family room with no impending competition. What was this strange and new phenomenon?

I made the kids pick up all their projects before they left for the weekend, so it was clear for us to roam free, use as we wished, and watch whatever and however long we wanted. It was odd. I felt like someone was going to catch us breaking and entering.

That day I meant to take my usual morning walk, work on scrapbooks, and maybe do a little picking up or something, but it was such a novelty to not feel pressured to leave the room. One movie led into another and another. Before we knew it, it was dark out and the day was over.

I even broke my no-cooking weekend rule and made a huge pan of nachos. It felt like we were watching the Super Bowl or some equally special event was happening (we only watch football when the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl).

On Sunday, my husband and I had our usual routine and contemplated what to watch until the kids got home. But we just couldn’t recapture our movie mojo from the day before; it was too much pressure knowing they could arrive any minute.

My husband did start watching another movie, but the girls arrived back home in the middle of it. Awhile later, I noticed they were thoroughly ensconced in the family room and my husband had escaped the estrogen and scurried out to his shop.

It was fun while it lasted, I guess.

Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. You can read more of her writing and her daily blog on her website on Facebook at “Living with Gleigh.”or follow her on Twitter @livewithgleigh. Her column is available every week at maplevalleyreporter.com under the Lifestyles section.