Rearranging for Changing

One of our larger purchases lately (actually, our largest) has been a suite of appliances for the kitchen.  Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Lowe’s was having a wicked sale on appliances and we, needing a new oven and fridge, were able to get an oven, fridge, microwave and dishwasher for a low low price.  (You’re welcome,  Lowe’s, for the free publicity.)  We indulged, opened up a credit card to get the financing and called it a day.

That is until we came home and The Mister broke out the measuring tape.  I wondered what he was doing, resting assured that he wouldn’t have just bought appliances without measuring first.  But it turns out that’s exactly what he did.  We ended up having to return the refrigerator before we even got it because it wouldn’t fit width-wise.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  The Mister went back to Lowe’s and purchased a skinnier refrigerator.  It even cost less than the other one.  And it was going to be delivered on Sunday, five days earlier than the other appliances.

We went about our merry way, cleaning out the old fridge and the contents on either side and underneath…fridges cover up a lot of dirt, mind you.  And then the delivery guys came, ever so helpful, carried the old one out and carried the new one in.  That’s when it became ever so clear…

…the new one wasn’t going to fit.

It was too tall.  Apparently, even though The Mister measured the width, he never took the measuring tape vertical and measured the height, assuming that the height was not a problem.  Turns out he was dead wrong.  There’s about an inch or two that won’t fit under the ledge of the cupboard.

The helpful men took the new refrigerator back and gave us our old, crusty one back for the time being.  We looked online for alternatives, but as it turns out, most fridges wouldn’t fit under that ledge.  So The Mister decided it’s time to take out the cupboard above.

It’s a hard task, but not an impossible one.  And it’ll require us to shift the already limited storage in our kitchen around.  But in the end we’ll have all new, matching appliances.  So it’s gotta be worth something.

All of this accommodation-making had me thinking about my recent health issues.  I got the blood test results back and while my hormones are in check, my insulin levels have gone up again–which means I have to go back to a low-carb lifestyle.  And, let me tell you, there are few things harder than weening yourself from sugar and carbs.

I hate diets, and fortunately this isn’t a diet.  It’s a lifestyle change.  One that I’ve made in the past and was actually very happy with until it was derailed by life and my own laziness and complacence.  Now I have to do a bit of rearranging in life and, come December 27, 2009, I have to tear down a cupboard of sorts in my own life to make way for better things.

I’m sure I’ll talk about it on here.  It’s too hard a challenge not to have stories about it.  The first time I did it, the first month was torture.  I could smell carbs and sugar a mile away and craved it every day.  But then, after a few weeks, I stopped craving it and started feeling a lot better from not indulging as often.  And my insulin levels dropped back to near-normal and all was well with the world.

It’s the hope that the cupboard we remove provides us with the space we need for the refrigerator.  And it’s my hope that going back to a lifestyle that was better fit for my health issues provides me the ability to live a better life, free from the exhaustion and various other symptoms that having high insulin levels brings.

Making changes is difficult as all hell.  Anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying to you or to themselves.  I’m not looking forward to mastering the art of my cravings again after indulging them for over a year.  But I know the feeling of health that change can bring.  And I need it now more than ever.

Sometimes life just takes some rearranging to make things fit right.  But rearranging isn’t easy, it’s a struggle every single time.

And it’s in the struggle that we find renewal.