Believe It

This past Sunday Roy and I went shopping for an electric "gas" stove. (Roy always shakes his head when I call it that, proclaming that it isn't a gas stove. I say--but it looks like a gas stove! He says--it's just a stove. But? This is my blog so I get to call it what I want.)

When we first moved here, one of the things I absolutely loved about this house is that it had an actual gas stove. There is a gas tank behind the house--it's quite old and delapidated but it's a tank--and I could not wait to fire it up once winter hit. And so, as soon as the days began to get a little chilly in the mornings, I called the gas company and they came out and filled the tank. I enjoyed about one weeks' worth of flickering fires emanating coziness and warmth in my living room and then? Well suddenly that was that. I couldn't get it to fire up for the life of me.

Frustrated, I asked Roy to come help me and he tried...and tried...and said, It's out of gas.

That's impossible! 

But he was right. The tank had a leak and so, the school agreed to fill the tank after the company came out and fixed the leak. Once again, we had the ability to create that perfect picture of the adorable family you see in magazines gathered around the gas stove: mom is knitting and the kids are lying on the floor with books in hand while Dad has his feet propped, reading the newspaper and the cat is curled up with a smile on its face.

Yeah.

Pretty much that's us.

Believe it.

And so I happily went about my mornings once again. As soon as I got up, I turned the gas stove on and it warmed up our living room in no time as I contentedly went about my early morning routine...for one week.

And then? The gas stove went out.

And this time we learned that the gas tank was just plain defective. It had leaked again. And so, frustrated and annoyed, we hung up our hats on the idea that we got to be the perfect family snuggled around the gas stove. Clearly it wasn't going to happen.

Our weather is just beginning to get a little cool in the mornings. Fall is in the air. It's time to switch out short-sleeved shirts for sweaters and sandals for boots. Caramel apples and simmering soups and colorful scarves are headed our way. And so, I said to Roy on a whim this past weekend, Let's get an electric gas stove so we can be that perfect family!

Because all it takes is a cozy fire in the livingroom, you know.

And of course, Roy is always game for a shopping adventure if it doesn't involve clothing. And so off we went. But tragically, Home Depot hasn't received their shipment yet. Christmas trees and Christmas decorations line their aisles. (Christmas season seems to be getting earlier and earlier these days.) But their "seasonal" items haven't, otherwise, quite transitioned to the fall/winter items.

And so we left empty handed.

But that's okay. I've taken the measurements. As soon as that shipment comes in, I'll be there like white on rice. I have dreams to fulfill.

Because this is what my days are going to look like this winter:

I will be knitting on the same bag I've been attempting to finish since last winter (Laurie! I need help!!) while Roy reads his Pontiac magazine with his feet propped up and my kids are lazily lying on the floor reading their books quietly without arguing while Sparti and Bax are curled up around the fire, contented smiles on their faces.

Believe it.