Slow Goodbyes: The Kitchen

When we moved out of our Marion home four years ago, I did a series of "Slow Goodbyes" posts. I did them more for my own memory preservation than anything else, so I decided to do them again for our Kokomo house. You're welcome to eavesdrop as I say goodbye to our home, but if goodbyes make you all weepy, it's okay if you don't want to read all the words. I understand.

A couple of days ago, we packed up the kitchen. Next to the office, it was the most time-consuming room to pack. And oh, the flood of memories it brought about!!

I think our kitchen in our Kokomo home wins the prize (easily, actually) for "most changed since high school." We did more to overhaul this room than any other room in the house. Sometimes when I see pictures of what it looked like when we moved in, I do a double take, because I don't even recognize it anymore.

* We took down the (non-load-bearing) wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, making an open concept for the main entertaining area of the house.

* We added a stone backsplash.

* We painted all the walls.

* We refinished the cabinets to make them espresso instead of builder-grade oak, and we upgraded the hardware.

* We replaced all the original white appliances with newer, stainless steel appliances.

* We replaced the outdated light fixture over the table with an updated stainless steel fixture.

I think in time, we would have probably upgraded the ceiling fan, sink and faucet, but really, this room was all kinds of brand new just with what we did!

But all our upgrades aside, this kitchen was such a sweet room for us. If you're a veteran reader here, you might remember that the kitchen at our Marion house was a very narrow galley kitchen that provided for lots of bumping around and overlapping if Ryan and I tried to cook together. We really looked forward to this Kokomo kitchen, because it was a proper room. Lots of cabinet space. A real pantry. Huge windows with tons of natural light. Room for an actual table. It was a for-real living space all by itself. We had grand dreams for this room.

And it did not disappoint. We have dozens and dozens of wonderful memories stacked up in this kitchen and preserved in the pages of our scrapbooks (as well as the nooks and crannies of our minds).

* In this room, we hosted dozens of Tuesdays at the Table. If you're newer here and don't know about those, they were our answer to inviting friends over to share a meal, and we did them for a long time. Maybe we'll be able to bring back some sort of version of that someday. We served all kinds of meals to friends and family alike across those months of Tuesday evenings.

* In this room, we had lots of fun with the kiddos in our lives. From nieces and nephews to friends' kids, we've had pancake parties, cookie decorating adventures, meals, and more. We crowded around our little tiny farmhouse table and made messes right along with memories. We colored pictures and did homeschooling and constructed crafts.

* In this room, we've cooked a million meals (give or take a few). Meals for the two of us, meals for Mommapalooza, Christmas, Thanksgiving, parties, and more. We've had taco bars, pizza buffets, birthday parties, and probably even more that I'm not remembering right now. Meals are love in my book, so we shared a lot of love in this little space.

* In this room, we watched our small group congregate to choose coffee mugs, fill a snack plate, talk, hug, laugh, and cry - before and after our official Bible study times. They deposited snack offerings on the table and helped themselves to whatever they needed, because they truly understood that our house was their house. Nothing gave me more joy than when they began pilfering around for themselves when they needed something. It told me they felt right at home, and I loved it.

* In this room, I baked hundreds of cookies. Cookie-baking is my go-to when I need to have a creative outlet or make a batch of gifts to share. My double oven cranked cranked them out in double the time, and the table became the cooling rack...at least for those that survived to the cooling stage. Taste-testing on warm cookies is best, right?

* In this room, we had a lot of conversations with Ryan's mom while she stayed here after her surgery. I'd cook her breakfast and eat with her every morning after Ryan left for work. He would sit with her in the evening, reading Scripture to her and talking her through the things that made her nervous. He sorted her medication in this room, and in fact, this was the room where he first told me about her diagnosis and its realities. She loved our house, and she loved my cooking. (She even loved it when I was secretly counting her carbs in her medication-induced diabetic state.)

* In this room, I made space for a skinny tree every December, so those driving by on our road could enjoy proper Christmas lights through the front window. My s'mores tree was in its element in front of that window! And somehow the room felt even Christmas-cozier with that tree all aglow!

* In this room, our visions of a coffee-themed room came to life, and we enjoyed crafting lattes and other coffee-flavored deliciousness for friends and family. In this room, our own morning java flowed freely and woke us up so we could have our most productive days!

* And just since quarantine, this room became the location of Ryan's breakfast-making perfection. He took his omelet-making game to new levels, and I certainly hope that skill doesn't remain with this room!

This little kitchen has been so good to us. We hoped for a room where we could live and work together, and it did not disappoint. We love the transformation we gave it, and we love the memories it gave us. We know it will do the same for its new family!

And for those of you who are worried that we are going to be back to a tiny kitchen...never fear! Yes, our next one is more of a galley style again, but it's even more open to the living area than this one is, and we'll have a little bar counter, too! (Ryan's particularly excited about that.) It is a beautiful, beautiful kitchen with all the updates, and we'll have room for an even bigger coffee nook than we have now. And we're going to get to use our actual dining room table once again.

So while we have much to look forward to about our new space, we are so grateful for the long-lasting memories we've enjoyed in this space!