The Flood

As a gal who has grown up in houses in the Central Time Zone, this apartment living thing is a bit new.  My place is perched high up in a high rise building.  A bit impersonal at times, but nothing beats the view.

About a month ago, there was a flood in my apartment.  My kitchen to be exact.  Sewage water in the cabinets, pots and pans, dishwasher, dishes, etc.  It was a bit traumatic to come home and find some of the (actually very, very nice and helpful) building maintenance men working to stem a tide of dirty dishwater.

After a long night of loud roto-rootering, the problem was fixed, and the flood was resolved.  What was not resolved, however, was the mess of my kitchenwares.

I do like to cook.  Nothing too fancy--I'm definitely a "follow-the-recipe-with-few-modifications-mainly-pertaining-to-what-I-have-in-my-cabinets/refrigerator-at-the-time" kind of cook.  Simple things that are tasty and filling and don't require a lot of time, but will make enough quantity for at least a week of late suppers after a long day at work.  If the recipe requires a slow cooker that will work while I sleep, even better. 

In keeping with my rather weak cooking skills, I have an odd mishmash of kitchenwares.  Most of the items were donated by my mother (an amazing cook) when I started med school.  I have pots and pans that I've owned for ten years, but in actuality have been in the family name for closer to thirty.

While most of these items have probably been at retirement age for at least the last five years, I haven't replaced them, and instead, carried them with me across the country to fellowship. 

What was I waiting for?

Well, it took a flood for me to realize it: I'm sad to say that I think I've been waiting to get married.  I think I hoped that I'd restock the kitchen with things picked out by me and this fictional fiance on our registry.  That my real kitchen would happen when I started my "real life."

But wait.  This IS my real life.  I may be single, but it's still a life.  I have parties, I have friends and co-fellows over for dinner, I'll even occasionally cook something more complex than my staple comfort (easy) foods.  So why am I waiting? 

I decided to stop waiting and start living.  I have been single for nearly a year--the longest time I have been single in nearly a decade. If I have learned anything this year, it's how to be independent.  I mean, I've always been pretty independent ideologically, professionally, and financially.  However, this year, I have learned how to be comfortable as "just one."

So, I did a little shopping around.  I picked out some new pots and pans, dishes, and cookware.  Then, I happily christened them with some slightly complex cooking...just for me.