My kitchen should be part of a union. She clocks in early in the morning and stays busy until well after sundown. Pretty sure she needs steal toed shoes. She is nothing fancy. Worn floors. Brown cupboards. A beat up door that takes you to our backyard. She must be in the middle of a menopause hot flash because it is always cold in there. There is one heater vent but for some reason it is always chilly. It could be the old windows, or the old door? The one jewel on her is the new stove. Stainless steal and black. Sleek. Took months of savings but it was paid for in cash and delivered. It has 5 burners and a regular oven as well as a convection. I am not even sure what the convection does but I have it! My kitchen is not one for show. The kitchen table is where most of the action happens. It serves as a desk, catch all. It is where we have meals. My kitchen is not one of those pretty ones you might see on TikTok or Instagram. She is a workhorse. What this kitchen has in spades is memories. I live in the house my grandparents built in 1947. My daughter is the fourth generation to live in this house. Although renovated 15 years ago and needing another one, I still see shadows of my grandma and grandpa in that kitchen. I remember us sitting around the kitchen table celebrating life events or just eating a meal. My mom coming in from work smelling like the dental office wearing her colorful scrubs. The white wooden highchair my sister sat in when she was a toddler. The cookie jar almost always full. It was welcoming. Efficient. Understated. Dishes were done by hand…and still are as my current dishwasher needs to be replaced. We found it on the side of the road with a “free…works good” sign and that was 18 years ago. I would say we got our monies worth out of it. I have great dreams to bring this kitchen into this century. Some fresh paint on the cupboards. New drawer pulls. New flooring. Dare I dream of granite countertops? Replace the windows and seal up the door. The one thing I will never change is the love that is in that room. Countless meals. Countless phone calls. Countless visitors. The kitchen really is the heart of the home and in this case I have the love that spreads through several generations and that is one thing I will never change!
