The Kitchen You'll Never Know

Have I failed to mention you're a reality TV star? Oh my.

This morning, at 8:15 we moved out of our house and the film and design crew for HGTV's Deserving Design moved in. In four days we will be summoned back home for the television-worthy (let's hope) reveal of our brand-new kitchen. It's totally surreal.

A few months ago I nominated your grandmother for a room makeover. Miraculously, the perfect show for our story just happens to be based in Atlanta, where the designer Vern Yip lives. I sent off an email describing the reasons we all live together: your father took a job helping people who could not afford a lawyer, your grandfather died a little over a year ago, your grandmother was alone in a big house and wanted to be closer to family, and I thought raising you in the very same house where I grew up would be tremendously meaningful. Apparently, the folks at Deserving Design thought our story was pretty compelling. Now, nearly five months after I sent that email, we're getting a new kitchen.

The kitchen we left behind this morning belonged in a museum. What kind of museum, I'm not quite sure. The museum of extinct appliances? The museum of home repair projects gone bad? The museum of funky wallpaper and decorative doorknobs? As we spent the last week packing it away I relived a good bit of my childhood as we sorted ET cups, Tupperware lids and flower vases that haven't held water or flowers since the early 70s. It was a real trip down memory lane. This morning, walking out the door sure that I would never see the kitchen again, I experienced just the slightest twinge of loss. It passed quickly.

We have four days to get our TV faces on. We're staying in the lap of luxury at Jenny's parents house in Decatur. There are woods and a creek right out our back door and we have our own private little apartment. Your father may decide to stay permanently, there seem to be precious few home improvement projects needed around here.

It's just unbelievable that in four days, without lifting a single power tool ourselves, we'll have a brand new kitchen! You will never remember the chartreuse, aqua, green daisy wallpaper, or the JC Penney Stove so I've added a few pictures for the record. Now, let's practice our amazed faces and memorize what we'll say on camera so we don't embarrass anyone.