In the sports world they call it “a stale message.” The coach or manager is a good coach or manager and will continue to be a good coach or manager, but they have been in one place too long, and their message isn’t resonating with the players. They’ve become stale.

My kitchen was stale. It’s a good kitchen and will continue to be a good kitchen, but its message is no longer resonating with me. Err, that is, its layout is no longer resonating with me. It didn’t need a major overhaul. Just a tweak. I’d have liked to have swapped the refrigerator for the baker’s rack and to be honest, had there been more than just me at the time I thought it, I might have suggested going out for a drink after we’d huffed and puffed a major appliance and a freestanding rack loaded with pots, pans, glassware, and for some reason, a bagel slicer across the kitchen floor. But there was no other person, and I don’t drink, alone or in groups, so I kept my reorg (that’s new young adult speak for reorganization) to just countertop appliances.

Allow me a short trip down a short sidetrack. What’s the deal with the 20-somethings (and the 30 and 40-something’s who want to sound 20ish) shortening perfectly good words that don’t take too long to speak nor a genius to spell. Where we old fogies are perfectly content with dealing with our situations, they all have a sitch. (I’m not even sure how to spell that.) and don’t even ask me if I want to “have a convo” when I’m in the mood to converse with someone. Ugh.

Anyway, my kitchen sitch sorely needed a reorg so I had a convo with myself and got to it. Now, I ask you, how much is too much when it comes to kitchen gadgets.  I realized part of the problem with my counter sitch was the number of ladles (lades?) and turners (spats) that I had. And the number was too many, so those got thinned. The coffee brewer and tea kettle and their requisite accompaniments (go-withs?) took up much too much too much counter space, and the herb garden was monopolizing a perfectly good tea cart. I figured (figged?) if I could harness these three areas, I’d be much happier and believe me, a happier me is easier to live with, and as one who lives alone, believe me, that is crucial! (croosh?)

Well, to make a long story short (and you’re saying why couldn’t I have decided to do that two paragraphs ago), after several attempts I came up with an arrangement I can be happy with. (No, it wasn’t the same one I started with!) Oddly enough, my tea paraphernalia was much too much for the tea cart which then became a perfect spot for a coffee station. And now my kitchen is resonating again!

But just to be sure about things, if you should happen to stop by and visit, don’t be surprised if I ask if you’d like to move a refrigerator. Or at least have a convo about it.

Few times in life do moments of self-care become gifts for others. In this week’s Uplift we talk about how we take the things we enjoy doing and try to add joy to the lives of others with them.