My kids keep accusing me of caring more about my new kitchen countertop and floor than I care about them. They say this because I get upset when they scrape a chair across the floor or put something hot directly on the countertop.
While it is true that I do baby the new countertop and floor, I have yet to attend any of the countertop’s basketball games. Or concerts. Or parent/teacher conferences.
My 14 year said to me, “Well, you’d go if they had any.”
Touche’.
But when, I ask, has my countertop forgotten to clean its room or do its homework? And have I ever had to ask the countertop to stop texting at the table? And not once has it ever complained that I forgot to give it lunch money.
The problem is that my kids are used to abusing the floor and, especially, the countertop. Before we redid the kitchen and the family room, I didn’t care if they put dings in the countertop by cutting directly on it, or if they scratched the floor with their rollerblades. In fact, I encouraged their bad behavior.
Because I hated the countertop. And the floor. Every ruinous thing that the kids did meant I was one step closer to remodeling.
I have been dreaming of a new countertop ever since I walked into my brand new house 13 years ago and realized that the cabinet guy had installed the wrong color cabinets. I didn’t mind the cabinet color mix-up, but the countertops did not match.
After 12 years, 6 months, 2 days and 16 hours (give or take 12 years) of saving money and trying to pick out a new countertop color, I found the perfectly perfect countertop. Which perfectly matched the cabinets and the new floor.
And I love love love my new countertop. And my new floor.
So, I want the kids to be good. To use pot holders and cutting boards and to keep the rollerblades outside.
But there’s something else in my house that I love love love. (Besides my husband, kids, and dogs, of course. But not the cat. Our cat is psycho.)
I love the furnace.
I know this because the other night it stopped working. And I realized how much I missed it when it was gone.
Because the house got cold. And the people and the dogs and the cat in the house got cold.
And I did not mind that I had to pay $473 to get the furnace fixed. Because I love it that much.
Nor did I mind that the repair guy said we shouldn’t pay the $473 because the furnace is 13 years old, and furnaces only last 14 or 15 years, and really we would be better off spending $2000 on a new furnace, rather than $473 now and then another $2000 in a year.
But I paid the $473 now (even though I actually did mind, a lot) because the $2000 I could have used to buy a new heater went towards the new countertop. And floor.
But that’s okay, because the new countertop might not keep us from freezing at night, but it matches the new floor and the cabinets perfectly.
And is much prettier than a brand new energy star furnace with an annual fuel utilization efficiency rating of 90%.
Throw a few more blankets on everyone’s bed and they’ll all be fine. Who needs a warm house, anyway?
I completely relate to this post. For me, though, it’s kind of the opposite. My kids know that they can pretty much get away with anything as long as it doesn’t make me hate them as much as I hate my white-for-2-days / gray-for-7-years carpeting.
Shrink my new sweater? Hate the carpet more. Forget to pick up your sister from school? Nope, carpet’s worse. Eat the last of my mocha almond fudge ice cream and blame the dog? Grrr…you’re pushing it now, but…nope…still hate the carpeting even more.
The day I replace the carpeting will be the beginning of a New World Order in this house. They should be very, very afraid…
Wow. I’m feeling pretty tricky that I figured out how to leave this comment.
And I’m glad to see someone has their priorities straight. I totally support you. If I had new countertops, and replaced the 1950’s asbestos tiles on my kitchen floor I’d be in heaven. (apparently, the tiles are safe. That’s what they told me anyway…)