A Little Advice

Never take your kitchen for granted.


I think I’ve taken my kitchens for granted in the past. I always knew I needed a kitchen, but it was never the most exciting room in the house. You don’t adorn it with cute lamps, or pretty comforters, or soft pillows. You just stuff the pots and pans in the cabinets. Sure, pots and pans are useful, but they’re just not cute. And, let’s face it, life is all about cute. Isn’t it?

If you’ve been around me in the last year (or technically 11 ½ months) you’ve heard me moan and groan about life in a construction zone, stupid campers, and the lack of a kitchen. I’m not generally much of a complainer, but this last year has taken its toll. I’ve learned a lot, though. For example, I’ve learned that in any future home-building adventures, I would prefer my role to me more along the lines of homeowner. I say what I want, and someone else does it…in a somewhat timely manner.

I realize that some of these trials have served to make me more grateful. It’s working too. I get excited about each completed step. I get excited over things I never imagined. We bought a water heater, I got excited. We put in a washer/dryer hookup, I got excited. That brings me back to the kitchen. After spending almost a year with an electric skillet & crock pot to cook in, and a tiny cube of a fridge, our eating habits had gone to pot. Eating out is not a luxury to me anymore. Maybe someday, but for now, all I want is to be able to buy the food I’ll use in a week, and store it in the fridge. Then, when I’m ready to cook it, I want to be able to prepare it, stick it in the oven, and pull out a warm, home-cooked meal.

A few weeks ago, we got our fridge and have been using it. I can’t tell you how much difference having a full-size fridge has made in our cooking/eating habits. And then, last night, it happened. We were able to get our oven out of storage, and hook it up. Oh what a beautiful sight an oven is. I’m pretty sure the clouds parted, the heavens began to sing, and an angel kissed me on the cheek as I stood back to admire it.

(Once again, excuse the quality of the pic taken on my phone.)

And tonight, I can finally start to provide my little family with the nutrition we all need. I’ll feel like a better mother as I bite into baked fish, rather than hamburger helper, knowing my poor baby is finally getting the nutrition she needs…eight months into pregnancy. Now, if I can just wait another week and a half until our countertops come in, and I have a kitchen sink.  I’ll never take my kitchen for granted again.