Old Habits, New Life

Well I did it! I finished that kitchen, and yes I am once again sore. Thursday evening I started the project of painting cabinets to match the walls I had painted the weekend before. First there was all those little screws I had to take out to get the cabinet doors off....then there was the sanding...then came the layers of primer, and paint. After hours upon hours of work...a few choice words (actually more than a few).... the cabinets were completed.



Men, I now completely understand your fascination with power tools!!!! For me it started with the sanding - "Wow, it would be nice to have a electric sander" and then by Friday evening while I was reinstalling the cabinet doors with a screwdriver and a butter knife, I was saying (yes, not thinking, but rather grunting it out as I stood on a chair holding up a cabinet door)- "Why the hell don't I have a drill??? I want a drill!!! A normal person would be doing this with a FUGGIN DRILL!"

Saturday morning I woke up with my hands and forearms aching...plus that pulling sensation between my shoulder blades.... but also feeling accomplished! I did it!!!! I completed everything I wanted to do and by the deadline I had set for myself; Easter weekend. The living room, the main bathroom and the kitchen all had received a face lift!

The kids and I had a quiet Easter. It was just us in our newly painted home. Against the grumblings of my 15 year old, Saturday evening we painted Easter eggs . We made a huge Easter basket centerpiece filled with all the goodies that cause stomachaches by Easter evening....chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, jelly beans, Peeps, Cadbury Cream Eggs, and a few more items including edible candy grass. I cooked a huge Easter brunch including the ham I soaked two days in maple syrup and honey - by Wednesday I am sure I will hear how the boys never want to eat another piece of ham ever again in their lives (Christmas leftovers revisited).

Yes, I went through the motions and traditions of a time when family surrounded us, and there was always a large gathering in our home on the holidays. Back then it would be nothing for me to host a holiday for over 20 people, and always something I thoroughly enjoyed doing; feeding loved ones.

There's a part of me that wonders why I still do this....pull out my Grandma's china...go on cleaning frenzies....and cook for an army at the holidays. After all it is usually just the three of us now. Is it old habits die hard? Am I secretly wishing that if I do this a large family will magically appear at my door??? Or is it I am trying to give the kids holiday memories--- ones that they will pass on to their children when their own families grow?

One thing I do know, life may have thrown us some curve balls.... They've watched their mother go from a stay at home mom and volunteer to a single mom struggling to make ends meat. They've had that large family to what seemed like overnight waking up in a new life of just "us."
They've known love and comfort, as well as tragedy and loss. They, as young children, have witness and experienced more than many adults...maybe I keep those holiday traditions passed down to me by my little German Grandma because I want them to know that regardless of where we are in life...no matter the curve ball that has hit us in the back of the head....there's always something they can count on...home is where the heart is, and family traditions are reminders of where their home is. ..........plus, stay away from Mom before the holidays or else you will do WORK!