I got a new refrigerator this week.
My ice maker works again! No more trips to Kwik Trip to pick up bags of ice to fill it.
And I don't have to worry about the ice dams in the freezer anymore.
It was quite the project to remove all of the tape, organize the drawers and set it up just how I wanted it.
Brought back memories of Christmas morning when the boys were little, trying to open up all of their new toys.
I was about 20 minutes into the process, drawers scattered across my kitchen island, when I thought I smelled something burning.
I had lit a new candle that morning - pumpkin spice. Nope, couldn't be that.
And then I looked down at my stovetop. It's a flat-top stove, which also serves as extra counter space when I need it.
Several of my freezer drawers were sitting on top of it.
I saw the indicator light, glowing red, warning me that the stovetop was warm. Somehow one of my burners had gotten turned on!
I scrambled to shut it off, quickly moving the drawers as I did it.
And I watched in horror as a large hole appeared in the bottom of one of them.
Not even an hour into owning my new fridge, and I had already damaged it.
Oops!
I surveyed the damage. Put the drawer back into the freezer to make sure it would still fit and slide in and out.
All good there. Phew!
It's now my frozen meat drawer. Still functional, even with it's new flaw.
I spent a couple seconds mourning the fact that my fridge was no longer "perfect," and then I just had to laugh.
If I've learned anything in my life, it's that nothing is ever perfect.
There's no escaping nicks and scratches and holes in things if we are actually using them.
I look around my house and I see a home that is lived in.
With a few holes in the walls (carefully covered with wall hangings or furniture), scratches on the doorways and dust around the picture frames.
I see a couch that probably has popcorn kernels under the seat cushions and who knows what else on the carpet beneath.
I see a dining room table that I had to refinish a few years back because my son decided to make a slow motion video of birthday candles burning down to the base of a paper plate (ask me if you want to know more about that story!).
Far from perfect, but also comfortable and welcoming.
Beyond those surface-level imperfections, I also see the laughter that has taken up space in our home.
In the dining room as we've played games at the table or shared a rare family dinner all together.
In the living room while we watched the Office or the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
In the basement, as groups of teenage boys played Xbox or sang karaoke (give me a minute and I'll find that video of them singing "Don't Stop Believin'")
Along with the laughter, I feel the tears, the frustration and the struggles we've been through while living here. And I see the lessons we have learned and the strength we have gained from them.
Such a bittersweet collection of memories.
And now, there's a refrigerator with an imperfect freezer drawer and a story I can tell that makes people laugh and think about their own "oops!" moments.
I could go out and buy a replacement right away.
Try to make that fridge perfect again.
But I don't think I will.
I'm just going to write it into our story.
It belongs here. In a perfectly imperfect way.
Oops!
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