Dearest Rachel –
I’d gotten the invoice late last week, and wrote the check out on Monday; I don’t like waiting when it comes to paying bills (back in the day, Dad would consider that a foolish attitude in his mother, but that was back when you could still earn interest on money that you left in your bank account until the last minute. That hasn’t been a thing for what seems like decades, now – even with inflation going full tilt like it is). But yesterday was the day I could finally hand it over, and be at peace about knowing that the invoice was paid.
Because yesterday, the goods finally arrived; the cabinets have been delivered to the house for installation.
Technically, this isn’t what started us on the path to remodeling the kitchen, of course; that honor belongs to the wall-mounted oven that conked out so long ago (after performing admirably for the better part of sixty years, it should be pointed out). Granted, the cabinets run a close second, as I’ve reminded you (not that you needed to be reminded, since you dealt with them as much as I did and more) in previous letters. Some couldn’t be opened, others had lost their doors, that sort of thing. We lived with it, like we lived with so many other imperfections, but now, things are coming in to get this place organized properly.
Of course, before that can happen, there has to be a bit of chaos, as everything is unloaded from the trailer and set down… somewhere… in the house.
Yes, there’s a lot going on here; as always, I wish you could see it and participate in watching it all come together. I don’t if you’d be at peace about it as much as I am, though.
Sure, the payment would have been of no concern to you; despite it coming from your family, you left that up to me to deal with – and I guess that’s one practical result of my surviving you. I promise, I’ll be able to teach Daniel to handle his own finances soon enough.
But the mess and the chaos… you were used to such things, but they were the one you had created. Dealing with other people’s messes – or rather, working around them, as the construction team will be dealing with this on their own, after all – is another story. It’s tricky enough for the two of us; I’m not sure if three of us would have been able to manage so well.
Still, maybe I’m overthinking this. And regardless, it’s all a collection of ‘what ifs’ that we’ll never know nor need to. But it would have been nice to collaborate on this, and have the benefit of watching it come together like this.
And that’s how things look by the end of the first day; everything is starting to come together. It will be interesting to see how different things will be looking by the time we return from Nashville this time next week.
At any rate, keep an eye out for us – and the construction team – and wish us luck. We’re going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 