My wife’s plan is slowly coming together, and so far it hasn’t cost me any blood, sweat or tears.

For the last couple of years Lily has wanted to redo our kitchen. All our appliances are over 20 years old and the counter top has a few nicks in it.

Those nicks, by the way, are all from Lily’s hand … although she only claims one of them to be hers for sure.

So the counter top seems to be the main item in this refurb, but along with it are some pretty expensive items that may be added a little later than sooner.

There was one item that she slipped in early and that was a new range. She said it made sense to have it in place when they came to measure for the new counter.

Now when I hear “range” I think of a farm, and cattle and grass and stubble. The range Lily had in mind was an induction top convection oven. I’m not sure what all that means other than you have to have the right kind of pots for the elements to work, and you can cook more than one sheet of cookies at the same time … which I’m all in favour of.

This reno may not have cost me blood, sweat and tears, but it is costing a few dollars.

I guess it’s time. This project has been on her list for ages and it seems that more than once we put it on hold because something else needed our attention and money.

At this point we are committed. A down payment has been made on the counter and they are coming to measure in a week or so. According to Lily they will install the counter about two weeks after that.

In the mean time, Lily has already painted the kitchen ceiling, and the range is in place. She still has to paint the walls, and arrange to have some tiling done above the counter.

But there is one other thing that needs to happen and it’s something I’m not too sure about … nor is Lily for that matter.

Rather than breaking the bank on new cupboards, Lily is going to paint our cupboards with some special cupboard paint.

That’s right, she found a paint that is specially designed for painting kitchen cabinets.

Personally, I’m afraid I will have to put on white gloves before I open any cupboard for fear of scratching the paint.

I can just see me putting on those white gloves just like the guy who carries the Stanley Cup.

We’ll probably have a little basket of them as you enter the kitchen. That way no one will be able to gouge Lily’s paint job.

It’s possible that this will work. My only fear is that in a year’s time, we will be looking to purchase new kitchen cabinetry … Cha Ching $$!

Here’s the thing: It’s easy to get in a rut, living with the same things, never changing or upgrading them. We can also live with things in our life, never dealing with or addressing them. We can do that for years, becoming very accustomed to those things – things that need to be replaced, things that need to go. There is no guarantee that making the changes will work out in the end, but give it a try. As uncomfortable as it might be, as inconvenient as it might seem while you are going through the change, in the end you will like the results.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to change in your life? Leave your comments below.