Sometimes You Just Know

SOMETIMES YOU JUST KNOW…
About 15 years ago I bought a pile of junk at a country auction. It was the end of the day and they were just adding stuff to the pile until someone bid. I don’t remember most of what was in the pile; but when they added the glass front cabinet doors, I started bidding; and for $5 I was the new owner of a pile of junk and 3 antiques.
I hauled them home and hubby took an immediate dislike to them. They had been painted pink; and the glass was cracked in one. They were several different sizes; none of which matched current day standard cabinetry. But I thought they were beautiful. Super sturdy, tall, with arches. I knew they could be wonderful.
When we moved from our farm, I still hadn’t found a use for them. Hubby wanted to throw them away but I wouldn’t allow it. A few years into our next house he was cleaning the garage and I saw him put them in the dump trailer. I retrieved them. From time to time we would have a flip or other project where I thought they’d be suitable and he would protest. Over time his dislike turned to hatred. Those pink doors were never going to be used.
Then we decided to build a house. Actually, we bought a place where a house had burned down. The yard was lovely and the foundation was still usable. I designed a new house to fit on the old foundation. Hubby had some overall input; but many of the details were left to me – including the kitchen design.
It wasn’t until after the lower cabinets were installed that hubby got curious – why weren’t there any upper cabinets around the stove? That’s when I had to confess: the upper cabinets were being made by a cabinet maker specifically to fit the glass doors.
We have been married a very long time. There isn’t a lot of “drama” anymore. We have little quarrels; but nothing big. But that day… there was shouting and swearing. I finally made him a deal: the custom cabinetry was going to cost about $700. He had to let me finish it and install it. If it looked terrible, we would take it down and I would pay from my personal allowance money to replace them with traditional cabinetry.
Almost 3 years later they are still up.