Monday, May 04, 2009

Check Your Drawers



Do you remember when Breaking News meant something happening that was important enough for the network to interrupt Days of Our Lives to report it? Now Breaking News interrupts the middle of the actual news. Give me a break, and not breaking news. It seems that our baseline is now panic.


I blame kitchen drawers. I have old-fashioned kitchen drawers that you have to push shut. Same with my cabinet doors. Not self-closing either. And I have no immediate plans to replace them.


I was watching HGTV the other day and there was a woman talking about her kitchen remodel. Which was, by the way, fabulous. One of the things most exciting apparently to all involved was the self closing drawers. The woman's grandmother was there for the reveal and said laughingly that if she had self-closing kitchen drawers, grandpa would never have known when she was mad. SLAM! It was like a warning shot in their marriage.


I do not necessarily slam drawers to announce my discontent being slightly more straight-forward and choosing things like saying, "You're a freaking idiot." Just kidding. Not really. But I have daydreamed about tearing out my non-self closing cabinetry and replacing it with something new and modern and self-closing and yet old looking like it was recently pulled out of the Ingall's homestead. The swines are fluing, the autos are collapsing, the sky is falling and we worry about the labor intensive drawer closing epidemic sweeping the nation.


So here's what I'm saying. Someday when I get to heaven I am going to ask God how much money we spent in America yearly on things like self-closing drawers. I think, therein, is the secret to our problems. We don't know how to separate what is important from what is luxury. And even if we finally define luxury, we don't know how to deny ourselves luxury. There are somethings that no matter how fabulous, no matter how able we are to afford it; are so ridiculous and unnecessary that God has to be disgusted with us as we fork over money on such foolishness. I spend every evening sitting in a family room with blue carpeting. It's hideous. I am surrounded by dark paneled walls. Also unfabulous. Out-dated blue and white floors in my kitchen. And I have to push those drawers shut constantly. No wonder I'm exhausted.


There's nothing wrong with kitchen remodels and home decorating. I love it, believe me. And as soon as it's feasible, the carpet is being replaced and the walls are being painted linen white. The linoleum will become laminate. My grandma's old blue couch, which I now tell myself is funky in a good way, will be replaced with a soft over stuffed chocolate brown chenille sofa. But I'll still have those old non-self-closing kitchen cabinets.


I think that might be a good reminder that sometimes I forget where to draw the line. And then I forget again. And then I forget all together what is important and what isn't until someone yells, "Breaking news!"


And then I wonder...what just happened?


Pic: Lexi, Sarah/Beany, me & Mac in my archaic kitchen baking Christmas cookies.

8 comments:

Stacy said...

call me an idiot....but what are self closing drawers? do i have them and don't even realize it? or am i, too, missing out? Lol!

Louise said...

Good post my Thara ... when I think of the number of people in this world who don't have kitchens, let alone self-closing drawers, it makes me wonder how we've reached this point in the U.S. I think Greed is one answer and 'Me-ism' is another. We seldom stop to consider what good the money God gives us could do in a third world country. We are seldom truly content with what we have and where we are in life, and not in a good way.

Louise said...

p.s. And we don't really know the meaning of 'sacrifice' either.

Mrs. Mac said...

I just spent the weekend in a 1930's log cabin, six hundred square feet, with non closing kitchen drawers. The stove was olive green, the bathroom was meant for small people. The floor was slanted a bit and soft in spots. But, I've never had such an enjoyable time being cozy with the Mr. and Nathan. It took no time to tidy up the place. We are an over indulged nation of gluttons and addicted to the latest/greatest gadgets. Said gadgets are what keeps moms and dads working such long hours while wee ones are left in the care of strangers. Sacrifice the family for the next best thing. It's replayed over and over every day ... and has been a contributing factor in our current implosion of the housing market (bad jumbo loans) ... the demise of the Jones family for the want of self closing drawers.

Constance said...

In my line of work, I clean homes for other people, I see a LOT of indulgences!! People who don't think twice about paying $1000 for a painting or something to decorate their home with! As long as people have a case of the "gimmees", I have a job!

We recently had dinner with our Pastor that performed our wedding and his wife. We haven't seen them in 23 years but recently they moved to the Metroplex. They are now Missionaries providing comfort to 3rd world countries through GAIN. She told me that after her first Mission trip to Russia where she loved on orphans, she came home and was VERY depressed. She told me she was so disgusted at the waste she she saw all around her and couldn't help but think about those who had to struggle just to live!
Connie

Trish said...

We are certainly over indulged...remote controls, cordless phones, cell phones...we don't have to get off our rumps anymore. Why, it's a catastrophe when the remote or cordless phone disappears!!! There are self flushing toilets, garage door openers...my list could go on and on.
Others walk miles for water and nourishment everyday and we can't move to change the channel on our theater sized TV's or answer the phone...is there something wrong with this picture???
I can certainly close my own drawers, thank you.

Margie said...

The people across the street have a house TWICE as big as mine... they had to move to a house TWICE AS BIG as the one thats across the street from me because they are "suffocating" because it's too small. WHAT THE HECK! There is 3 of them.

Deb said...

We have self-closing drawers in our master bathroom. I hate them. They're always closing when I want them to be open. And I do way too much kitchen-cabinet-door-slamming to-make-a-point for me to have self-closing drawers in my kitchen.