Home Life

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Tipping Point

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It’s been quite a week, hasn’t it?

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what I’m talking about. The world as we know it has changed drastically this week. It’s on all our minds and hearts.

I confess, until this week I was not overly concerned about Covid-19. Yes, I was paying closer attention to hand washing, I had stocked up on extra provisions (including toilet paper thank goodness!) Most of my concern was for my husband, who is at increased risk due to underlying health conditions. So I was focused on keeping myself healthy most especially for his benefit. But generally I was going about business as usual.

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Beautiful House

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For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been engaged in some home improvement, specifically, updating the kitchen in our condo. When we moved in, the vintage 1994 cabinetry and appliances looked quite up-to-date compared to the 1980’s stuff in our old house. But within a year I decided it would be nice to modernize with new countertops and stainless steel appliances. It would refresh the look and use of the kitchen for me to enjoy, as well as be a good investment for resale purposes.

I started talking about doing this way back in 2014. (One thing you can say about me is that I never move too hastily when it comes to home improvement!) I remember my mom being super excited about it, and she’d nag me gently ever so often. “When are you going to get your new appliances?” she’d say. She even slipped me some extra money in my birthday cards one year. “Put this toward your new kitchen,” she wrote on the inside of the card. 

On Aging: Window Gazing

One of the things I love best about our house is the windows. There are six large windows in the living room, four on one wall, and two on either side of the fireplace. And, adjacent to this expanse of windows, are sliding doors that lead onto the deck. 

“Set wide the window,” wrote Edith Wharton, “let me drink the day.” I spend a lot of time these days “drinking the day” from these windows.

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Leaving Home

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A friend writes of helping her daughter move out of state, writes of the empty space she anticipates this will leave in her home and her life. I recall a conversation we had a few months ago when we spoke of this daughter, a beautiful young woman in her early 20’s, an only child who was living at home after college, working and beginning to make her way in the world. At that point in time, her mother was both grateful she was still at home, but also just a little concerned, knowing it is important for young people to find their independence, to have a life of their own apart from their parents.

“I don’t want her to move out, not really,” my friend said, “but at the same time I feel as if she should.”