The sun is streaming through my kitchen window as I look out at the new fallen snow, winter has come early. I am sitting at the stool at the kitchen island. The aroma of simmering soup fills the room with the goodness of roots, greens, and savory broth. Sinful white chocolate and espresso brownies are cooling. I still look around with wonder at this beautiful space we have called home for the last nine months. The light, the spaciousness, the tranquillity of the forest behind are the result of 4 years of planning, designing, redesigning, before finally building this house, our new nest. This house was one of my WHY’s to put down the glass for good. I knew it would be stressful, and I wanted to handle the many decisions, delays, highs and lows. It was a challenging but wonderfully creative project while embarking on my sober journey and during a pandemic. I wanted to enjoy the process and can say I was surprisingly Zen throughout. Had I been drinking, I know it would have been a different story. We bucked the downsizing trend, empty nesters and nearly retired folk like us typically follow. Our friends were surprised that we went from condo living back to living in a house. “What about the maintenance and all the extra responsibilities?” we were asked. And incredulously “Is it all one level? (just stopping short of asking if we had grab bars and if it was handicap friendly?) No, I smiled back, “would you like to see the view from the terrace upstairs?” We love to stay home more, my working husband with his own office /mancave and me in my kitchen with its large island and a small nook with a desk. I love the skylight window above the desk, that frames the trees which now stand bare, reveals the lake beyond, and where geese flock by on their training runs. The best part is how good it is for our relationship. We have space for us to be apart and space to be together. We entertain again, host dinner parties, have room for guests. We can step outside and breathe fresh air, soothing our nervous systems and energizing our spirits. I’ve never had a drink in this kitchen and I feel fabulous. S.M.D. (Pledge 100 TARA)
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