My Secret Relationship

My Dearest Microwave,

I must first start out with an apology.  I am sorry.  I'm sorry I talked down to you. I didn't understand why I would need a device to reheat food.  Why anyone would need you.

I called you a waste of space, an embarrassment to food, a device...for college students.

When I saw you hanging only 12" above our gas stove in our new house, I despised you.  I even called you ugly.  Until one morning I took a sip of my coffee to discover it had cooled.  As I tipped the cup to pour it down the drain, you shined your beckoning light upon me.

I peeked around to make sure no one was around, and then, I let you heat up my coffee.  It felt wrong.  I took a sip of that freshly warmed cup and...I even warmed it again.  I enjoyed that cup to the last drop. Thanks to you, Microwave.

Our relationship started out slow.  But then, it got out of hand.  I grabbed a box of popcorn from the store.  And started perusing the frozen foods aisle.  Just to see what I could do with you.

I may have been caught whispering sweet nothings to you one evening while you popped the sweet kettle corn that was once a flea market treat.

Oh sweet, sweet microwave.

While you are a beautiful thing, I didn't want you lurking a mere 12" over the brushed steel gas range that cost more than my first car.  But, for you, I will do something better.  I will build a space specifically designed for you.  I will make you comfortable with your own little place in the world.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll "cook" dinner in you one night.  Popcorn counts as dinner, right?

Microwave, I kinda like ya.

Yeah, friends.  Guess who got a microwave?!

_____________________________________

Psst - I don't want to take credit for anything I didn't do.  So please note that my contractor and friend (James...or Jimmy, depending on the day) created this custom piece for us.  He built it like a custom cabinet (with routing and notching) and he did a great job.  I did all the wood fill, caulk, and paint to finish it off - but he takes the cake for the brains needed for this one.  And while I'm singing him praises, I might as well give him MOST of the credit for our kitchen.  There's been a lot of customizations and tweaks needed (that I didn't discuss here) and since Justin and I both work 40+ hours a week, we did hand over quite a bit to Jimmy.  Although he's an amazing guy (sorry ladies, he's taken), he does charge us hourly, so I have him leave all the finish work for me to help save us some dough.