In the kitchen

It was the kitchen that made me fall in love with our house when we first looked at it.  It was open and spacious and had all of the counterspace I could ever dream of.  It was easy to imagine the pie crusts that I would roll out on its surfaces and the room for cookies to sit and cool, fresh out of the oven.  It was easy to imagine the parties and family gatherings where everyone would congregate there and share laughter and stories - because the kitchen is simply where you do those things.

At times when I've hosted fun get-togethers in my home, my friends will sit down on the kitchen floor, while the little boys play with tupperware and pots and cook us make-believe macaroni and cheese.  Those are the moments that warm my heart the most because life seems to be shared to its fullest in my kitchen.

My kitchen is full of evidence of life being lived.  There are remnants of Mother's Day and sweet words received at the end of another semester of Journey Group.  A newly framed photo of my smiling boy.  A book I'm reading and will be going through with some ladies this summer in my home.

There is work brought home to get caught up on.

Play-time things put away.  My son keeps my heart and my mind young and curious.  And painting watercolors and making spaghetti noodles out of Playdough are my most favorite parts of any day.

The kitchen is a place where we make memories.  And where I keep some of my most precious ones displayed.  It's fitting that my favorite picture of my mom and I sits on top of my refrigerator.  Some of the best and only memories I have with my mom were made in the kitchen.  

It can be a bit messy and chaotic.  If I were honest, I would say that I often wish my kitchen could look like something right out of a magazine or some beautiful room you might see on HGTV - where things are clean and put away and styled ever so perfectly.  But then again, life is messy and out of order and I really wouldn't have it any other way.

The kitchen is where we give Tommy sandwich hugs.  It's the place he asks for "offles."  It's where Todd gives me his first kiss when he gets home from work.  It's where he wraps his arms around me as I cook a meal for us. The kitchen is where I sit on the floor with my son and spell out words with letter magnets on the refrigerator.  It's where Tommy hides in his "spaceship" (the pantry or the bottom cabinets he is able to crawl into).  It's where I make my coffee and often times make a whole pot because I'll be sharing it with a friend.  The kitchen is where I bake and cook and delicious smells begin.  It's the place where we unload and set everything down after walking in after a long day.  It holds much of our lives.  It's the hub of our home.

And I'm not sure exactly why I'm sitting here feeling inspired by my somewhat messy kitchen.  I guess after a week and a half of jury duty and barely being home because life had been disrupted and merely survived through, I simply don't want to miss it.  Life and beauty around me - in the chaos, in the mess, in the disorderly.

Because it's right there in front of me when I stop and look.....

Where is the place you most often share life with others?