We usually have dishes waiting to be washed on the left side of the sink, and we always have clean dishes drying on the right of the sink. If the dishes are piled up, I literally have nowhere to work at all.
I do love my little, odd kitchen. No, I wouldn't have chosen the melon colored counters or the green sink. No, I wouldn't have picked the ugly brown carpet or peach walls. I probably wouldn't have chosen blonde-colored cupboards, either. But ... when the sun shines through the white eyelet curtain late in the afternoon, it glows.
I love when it glows, especially if the dishes are caught up.
It's unusual. It's small. But it's home. I love working in here, when it's clean. When we are preparing a big meal, or baking, we have to set up a card table in the back half of the kitchen, just to have room to work. We have made so many memories in our ugly little kitchen since we moved here 6 years ago. No wonder it makes me smile.
Yes, I get frustrated. Many days I struggle with having enough room to work. Some days I slam the pan cupboard a little too hard, because the pan lids are threatening to jump out again. Sometimes I groan when I realize I have to go to the basement to get some canned goods, since there isn't room to store them upstairs. And I often snap at someone who comes out for a drink when I'm trying to cook.
I need to be more patient and calm in those moments. I need to keep the kids rolling on dishes better, so I don't get frustrated by lack of counter space. I need to remember its glow when I'm frustrated by all its oddities.
Someday we'll re-do the kitchen, but deep down I'll miss the melon counter tops a little ... just like I miss the 1950s stove we replaced. It didn't work very well, but it was charming and unique.
Yep, I kind of miss that old stove, but not the oven that only heated on one side.
Finding joy,
April E.
