First World Problems

I have never really liked my kitchen. Its only saving grace has been its large size. It had dark oak cabinets, an ugly white tile floor grouted in gray (which I painstakingly painted with almond grout paint; that made it look less grid-like), and originally had beat-up off-white Formica counters. Over the years, I replaced the counters with a prettier green Formica that looked like granite, and I got a fabulous Bosch dishwasher. But the cabinets were cheap, the fridge inadequate, and the stove had a section of the seal missing on the top oven that made an indelible grease and soot stain on the strip of chrome above it. The burners didn't work that well and it was not level, so cakes came out lopsided. I lived with all this for 16 years.

I did have a nice table and chairs and pretty window treatments; it could have been a lot worse. But the tile was increasingly hard on my back and legs, and in April, I dropped a bottle of red nail polish on the floor. It shattered, and I had to use nail polish remover to get all of it up.

That did it. I decided to get a new kitchen.

To save money, we decided to do most of the work ourselves. So we proceeded to nearly kill our middle-aged selves with the demolition. We removed the stupid soffits, and Wes re-routed the wiring that was inside. Out went most of the cheap cabinets. We made three trips to the dump.

The floor was a beast to get up. Then we had to take out a layer of subfloor and install a new one. Then the flooring went in. It's a European product that clicks together, so we did it ourselves. What a chore. It wasn't that difficult, but it was tedious.

In the meantime, we set up our new microwave oven on the kitchen table moved into the dining room. We have been eating off of paper plates with plastic cutlery. All my stuff normally stored in the kitchen has been stashed all over the house. What a mess.

Everything is covered in a layer of dust. Our air conditioning filter was filthy in no time. I will have to clean everything in the house!

But what right do I have to complain? I may not be getting the kitchen of my dreams (at least $20,000 more than I could spend) but it is beautiful. I have cherry cabinets! I am getting a granite counter--a slab I picked myself! My floor is beautiful! We will have under-cabinet lighting and beautiful fixtures! I get a new fridge and stove! I now have a microwave oven! (Which I have never had, but never missed. I am just putting it in because it is standard in homes now.)

First world problems. I decided that I would not lament the things I cannot have, but celebrate the things I can have. Especially when so many around the world do not have even clean water to drink. I can get it chilled right out of my fridge!

I feel very fortunate to live in this time and place and to have the means to fix up my house. I am blessed. We are working very hard, but it will be such a wonderful finish to my home. I have beautiful hardwood floors and a cherry kitchen!