My Kitchen Is Saving Me

When I walk into my kitchen lately, I'm extraordinarily grateful. I find myself thinking, over and over, “this kitchen has saved me. This kitchen is saving me.“

It started with a dishwasher leak. Saturated carpet. I gutted the kitchen and front room. I wanted a new kitchen, but suddenly I didn't have one at all. I poured my dreams into the space. I did it mostly alone. I build the cabinets, laid the wood floor, installed everything myself. I lost 2/3 of my income and divorced in the middle of the project. I kept on because I had to, and now my kitchen is saving me.

It’s saving my budget because I can make it easier to eat in than eat out. It's a gathering space for love to grow, instead of an isolated claustrophobic space. It's a showcase of all I've learned and all I still have yet to learn. It's a confidence boost to see daily. My kitchen nourishes me so I can move all day and work hard. It's saving my health, because I'm cooking better food than what I was surviving on before I couldn't even be in my kitchen.

The joy of life is turning disasters into beauty and functionality. I don't wish for the next disaster, but I know this won't be the last one to change me.