At the beginning of this year, we renovated our kitchen and Brian joined a unit out in Colorado with the Air Force Reserves. It was a natural move since he was an AF officer for 9 years before we moved here to be closer to family.  Since the day bought our house, renovating the kitchen was a dream of mine. Originally built in 1979, and never updated, we still had orange and brown cornucopia wallpaper  on the walls. Coincidentally, the two events overlapped and Brian traveled quite a bit between his regular job and the reserves. Usually not a problem but this Spring had its own plans.

Eight weeks we worked on the kitchen and I couldn’t have asked for a better company to work with. I’ve done my share of renovations and it’s no small thing to have strange men in my house around my kids all day. This particular company was amazing from the owner to the subcontractors. No worries there.

The day before we tore the kitchen down to studs, I made 14 freezer meals that either fit into my crock pot or my counter top Oster oven- a brilliant wedding gift from my sister. (I had yet to discover the power of an Instant Pot.) Meals were, for the most part covered. The refrigerator was now in the garage which was packed with new appliances of every kind. My dish washing station moved to our master bathroom. It was a little more walking but I got used to it. Having the coffee pot by the crock pot always blew the circuit, so it also joined us in our bedroom.

During most of this time Brian was on short trips here and there, but gone enough to be mostly out of the decision making process. When home, he spent his time chopping wood for our wood burning furnace. It kept us warm as long a the pilot light stayed lit. With Brian gone, I spent the kids nap times hauling wood in from those fantastic piles Brian had made during his most recent stay at home. Which were always nearly gone before he got back. Only 3 more weeks until Spring.

Windows were delayed after a tornado hit the factory in Iowa, inviting a well-timed snow storm in the middle of February. Despite our best efforts to keep the winter out of the gaping open windows, my kids started getting sinus infections and then our furnace went out. Out as in, they made it special order in 1979 and the manufacturer doesn’t make any parts for it any more. Keeping our house warm enough for the kids to recover seemed impossible. Three weeks until Spring indeed.

March came with yellow daffodils and all the warmth promised. The renovation was  finished. Windows were (finally) installed, the coffee pot back in the kitchen, the garage reclaimed, the kids healthy again and Brian came home for a full three weeks with only one 2 week trip left to do in April. All was once again right with the world, what could possibly go wrong?