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Out with the Old (relatively speaking) #firstworldproblems

January 24, 2012 By Marta Darby 8 Comments

Picture, if you will, the following chaotic scene:

I'm delighted to report that my kitchen appliances were delivered a few days ago. The refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and microwave all match. (What?) This is a first for me in my lifetime. And I'm very happy, but I'm still not quite sure how to act.

However, I couldn't stall the delivery of them for another week, which meant the painting happened just a few hours (!) later. So that was our weekend. Moving stuff out of the kitchen and piling it into boxes and storing everything in the dining room.

WARNING: Real life photos of the mess we've been living in. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Messy mess

The stove needs a special installation because our house is so old that the old gas valve didn't speak the same language as the new stove and so I am without a way to cook, and just to make things more interesting, the stove is sitting smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. (So high is my stress level that I just used the phrase, "smack dab.")

Stove

My old appliances were happily being hauled away at about the same time.

Refrigerator

While all this was happening, the painter was in the midst of turning my kitchen a beautiful seafoam green.

Wall color

And because of all the traffic and painting, the floor ended up needing a serious deep-cleaning. (Many thanks to Eric and Jonathan and their trusty toothbrushes. Love my guys.)

Boys cleaning floor

So we're in the throes of packing stuff and moving and painting and cleaning and avoiding the walls because of the fresh paint, when, in the middle of all the crazy, I remember that it's my weekend to have my mom and I'm late picking her up, so I drop everything and haul over to her house to bring her back with me and this is what happens next…

Here's Luza in her mink coat, sunglasses, and walker. She strolls (or "rolls" if you want to get technical) into our home and declares,

"What a mess!" (To anyone not familiar with the Cuban culture, Cuban grandmothers are allowed to say pretty much whatever is on their minds at any time, and nobody even thinks twice about it.)

Luza

"I died my hair red. Do you like it?" (For those not familiar with my mother, she will be 98 next month and this moment pretty much sums up her entire personality.)

She then sat down right in the middle of all the chaos and started commenting* on the painting, the cleaning, and the entire mess.(*commenting is Cuban code for "criticizing every detail," but that's not important right now.)

What I learned from this experience:

  1. My family is pretty amazing.
  2. I love seafoam green walls.
  3. My mother is a piece of work.
  4. They don't have support groups for Adult Children of Cuban Mothers. (Just trust me on this one.)

You might also like:

On gratitude. My Big Fat Cuban Family Cuban Cleaning® Playlist Speaking of Cuban heart-throbs… Now it’s time for… “Big Thoughts with Dr. Seuss.”

Filed Under: Cuban-American Life, My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Tagged With: Cuban mothers, kitchen remodel

Previous Post: « Dear Desi… (A birthday love letter.)
Next Post: This is a fine mess I’ve gotten myself into… »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosamaria says

    January 24, 2012 at 10:27 am

    Maybe you should start that support group – yo me enscribo. I can always count on your posts to make me smile;-)

    Reply
  2. Marta M. Darby says

    January 24, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    Hi Rosamaria,Thanks for stopping by. I’m still decompressing from “A visit from mami.” So glad you “get it.”
    😉
    Besos,
    Marta

    Reply
  3. [email protected] says

    January 24, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    Oh, Marti,I’m so glad I stopped by. You made me laugh once again. You also made me long for Southern California just long enough to come and see you with all of your new changes!
    All of the red and bright colors were so fantastic, and so “you,” but I’m sure what you are doing now is equally as beautiful and reflective of your wonderful personality.
    Love, Rechelle

    Reply
  4. Natalie says

    January 25, 2012 at 6:16 am

    Oh my gosh, Marta, I’m sitting here with my morning coffee laughing out loud “como una loca”. Congratulations on your new appliances! When I got my new appliances two years ago (a first for me too), I left the blue paper seal on them for six months “para que no se estropiaran”. Seriously, my little boy would show them off by saying “don’t you love mommy’s new blue refrigerator?” It was ridiculous but I think you’ll understand 🙂

    Reply
  5. Amanda says

    January 25, 2012 at 10:47 am

    But I’m sure the final product was worth all the chaos!Your mom definitely is a piece of work! =)
    xoxoxo

    Reply
  6. Marta M. Darby says

    January 25, 2012 at 11:40 am

    Hi Rechelle,Thanks for stopping by! I have so missed your wonderful enthusiasm and creativity.
    I appreciate your kind words.
    Thank you, my friend.
    xoxo,
    M

    Reply
  7. Marta M. Darby says

    January 25, 2012 at 11:41 am

    Hi Natalie,I read your comment this morning and they just finished with the stove installation. I very reluctantly peeled off the blue sticky paper and thought of you. LOL!
    I TOTALLY understand. =D

    Reply
  8. Marta M. Darby says

    January 25, 2012 at 11:42 am

    No final product yet….I’m still in what I call “creative paralysis.” I can’t decide where everything goes and what I want it to look like. *heads over to Pinterest*

    Reply

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