As I deep cleaned my kitchen this morning I was a bit taken back by where my thoughts wandered to. You see, typically while I'm deep cleaning I make a mental list of all failures of my home. The section of my yellow kitchen ceiling that is not yellow but white as it was patched up 7 years ago when the bathroom above the kitchen "sprung a leak". The tile that has a long crack. The veneer on the cupboard door which keeps falling off in chunks. And then there's this ancient stove.
My harvest gold stove is almost as old as I am. My husband keeps reviving it and I'm not sure if that is a good thing. Two years ago the heating element went out on the oven and I learned to make bread on an outdoor fire pit (I have to admit that that was a fun learning experiment!). Last year the knobs started crumbling one by one. I was finally down to two knobs which I glued together when we were able to locate replacement knobs online. Shortly after we got the knobs replaced for each burner two of the burners stopped working. By November I had ONE burner working. Fortunately I like being challenged and finding innovative ways to problem solve.....until the day my husband requested "Breakfast for Dinner". I kind of lost it as I said, in complete exasperation, "I can't cook hash browns AND bacon AND eggs AND pancakes (he a Tremendous Twelve kind of guy) on ONE BURNER!" After I gave myself a time out for flipping out I found a way to meet his request. Hubby ordered the parts and fixed the stove top last month except the replacement "parts" for two of the burners cooks only on high heat. But, hey, I've got four burners so I'm not going to complain!
So back to this morning. I'm cleaning, organizing and wiping down cupboards, wiping down the oven, etc. when I realize that each time I find something that needs repair (or replacement) I'm not making a mental note with grumbling (yep, that mental list often causes a bad attitude to develop). Instead I'm giving praise. As I washed the cupboard that is in great need of a face lift, I gave thanks that the cupboard, although not pretty, is still functioning. As I washed the stove, I remembered a blog post I had read last fall and was reminded that my old, worn out stove would be a luxury to some and I am thankful. As I look at the burner which will forever bear the orange enamel mark of my tea pot, I am thankful for my boy, the boy who absentmindedly attempted to heat some water for tea but forgot to add water to the teapot.
As soon as thoughts of, "I wish I could afford a new cupboard/stove/kitchen remodel/new house" crossed my mind they were quickly replaced with, "No, not this year. This is the year for missions" and my heart sung. I happily can live with what I have. As I've learned recently, I have enough. Maybe next year I'll be able to save up for those stainless steel appliances I've been eyeing but for now my appliances are good enough. Besides, aren't retro appliances in style these days?
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