Re-modeling

Remodeling.
Everything is at 6s and 7s--
Nothing is where it belongs or
will belong once it is through.
Most of the kitchen is in
the screen room, the dining room
is scattered hither and yon, and
there is drywall dust everywhere.
Time is diffused as no one seems to come
when they say, jobs are completed
by some clock unknown to man, and
'soon' has a whole new meaning.

I can see how it will look
once there are cabinets below
new granite counters and bamboo floors
underneath it all. When I can figure out
new switches and which turns on what.
When I stop trying to turn off
the new skylight. When I stop
attempting to walk through the door
that is no longer there. The coffee pot
moves several times a day--
never the same place twice.
I just want a cup of coffee.

in my new kitchen.
Or in my new dining room.
Can't sit in the living room--
it's buried beneath assorted flotsam
and jetsome--as is my office.
And we thought
we'd eliminated so many things
before starting!
Perhaps we need that dumpster we filled
back again.. I'm tired of washing
dishes in the bathroom sink!

I want to wander barefoot
across new hardwood floors
and not have my toes find
stray screws or drywall paste droppings.
A tray balanced on a ladder
makes a poor counter. Even the dog
is confused by the obstacle course
to get outside and Lord only knows
where her treats were moved to.
Extension cords snake
twisted as my nerves
and my patience has worn thin.

Remodel. Remember how small
the old kitchen was when I needed
to step into the dining room to change
my mind and how, last night, we waltzed,
carefully, around the new space
and giggled. Redefining soon once again.
Next year we will look back and laugh.
It only took four months, we'll think as
we smile at how much better it looks--
far better than the one fifty-five years old.
We just have to make it another few weeks.
And we'll never remodel again!


The new year will start regardless
that we are mid-project. The cabinets
and countertops will arrive in their own time
as my time clearly is not part of the equation.
We slept through New Year's--
not as young as we used to be--
and painting uses muscles that are far more
prone to pain than writing has ever been.
Yet, another step is finished.
I can see it so clearly. My mind's eye
is full of possibilities. RE: remodeling:
Think I'll opt for modeling. Easier that way!