Becoming something...

So the other day...

I was standing in our newly-messy kitchen surrounded by a sea of dishes, mugs, and electrics. Some old, some new, some chipped, some dusty from their boxes. Two blenders, an old hand mixer, cookie sheets, bubble wrap, new flatware, old flatware, cats crawling around with curiosity... I was sifting through the old and new of my life and his, trying to find a place for the stuff we had aquired in our most recent merger.

When the mister and I moved in together a few years ago, we took the easy route by just combining everything. You see, we didn't have enough forks as individuals to actually survive a dinner party, so we threw both sets in a drawer and called it a day. Easy.

Several months back when we bleeped around William Sonoma with our special electric gun, we decided we would have to do a gigantic purge after the wedding. It would be like a therapeutic sigh. Repeat this mantra: "out with the old, in with the new," but it seemed like a lifetime away and we ignored the notion and replaced it with other plans and ideas.

But now the time is here. My orange kitty sat on a box filled with my college dishes while I packed up the simple white plates that he once called his. We now have double of almost everything, so boxes have been made for the inevitable stoop sale and they're filling up more each day. There are things we couldn't let go of like the Highland Diner mugs from upstate and the He-Man beach towel (awesome.) It's funny, though, how something you drink your morning coffee out of can be impossible to throw away. It's just glass with words, right?

It felt strange to part with so many things that hold so many silly memories. I realize these memories aren't actually being thrown away with the stuff, but it feels odd to hold a plate and reminisce our first Thanksgiving together of tofurky and mashed potatoes. New memories will inevitably surround the new stuff and follow us for a lifetime, but I couldn't help but feel, I dunno, grown-up while creating our new kitchen. These moments of adult flashes have been occuring far more frequently as of late. They come on strong as new commitments, decisions, and changes grow out of time.

The old dishes are gone. The new ones are beautiful, they will actually match each other and be an ever-present guest at future tofurkey Thanksgivings and holiday dinners.

My babies will use these dishes.

... several years from now, of course. There's that grown-up feeling again.