You may recall an earlier post I did on my friend Amy regarding her superbly unfortunate experience with a contractor.  I had hoped to interview Amy again before the close of my time as guest blogger on Wednesday.  But as with many of us who are deeply involved in holiday preparations, time will not allow for that second interview.

But I thought I would briefly talk about the rest of her story today, and why I’m thinking of it as Christmas draws near this week.  Basically, she hired yet another contractor to work on her kitchen with a similar experience–a completely ruined space.  I don’t have all the details of that, but she was then approached by a design show on cable television, the basis of which was that the family that starred in the show wanted to focus on helping people that had been wronged by contractors, because they had themselves had their entire home destroyed in that way.

It looked like Amy’s rescue had finally arrived, in the form of someone who understood, someone who cared, and someone who would finally do right by her.  My husband and I were invited to the reveal of this kitchen and all seemed to be great.  But it was not, as it turns out.  There were several things that were left incomplete (electrical hookups among them), and they almost got Amy to sign some kind of release that would have nullified any responsibility for those repairs.  Once again phone calls went unanswered.  The episode featuring Amy’s kitchen will not air. And her kitchen is still unusable.

I’m thinking of this because so many of us are being forced to look beyond material substance at this time, and will continue to have to do that long after the Christmas season has gone.  I think of areas of my own living space that I am so frustrated with (the bathroom from 1970, the pock-marked linoleum kitchen floor) and it seems like I will never get to realize my dream home.

But as I said before, people like Amy inspire me.  She said she is determined to see that she gets her home to a certain point–perhaps not to the extent she originally planned, but as far as she can with the resources she has.

So with that in mind, I’ve looked at more small ways I can make our apartment the kind of home that I can feel good about living in.  I focus not on practical steps I can take with decorating and sprucing up, but on filling it with love, and cherishing the more permanent aspects of home, like the life I share with my husband, my work as a writer, and all the joy that’s out there every day in which to partake.  I wish Amy the best progress in the New Year, and I endeavor to make 2010 a good one as well.

Last 5 posts by KellyThacher

• O Tannenbaum . . . - December 23rd, 2009
• Lighting a Candle - December 22nd, 2009
• Faking it with Flowers - December 20th, 2009
• Color Clinic - December 19th, 2009
• Walking the Plank with Team Projects - December 18th, 2009

Author: Kelly Thacher

Kelly has been a writer since she was in grade school where she received early recognition for her Young Author's project. Magazines like Home Entertainment, Luxury Consumer Electronics, Vertical Living, Luxury Home and the Robb Report were happy to have Kelly's editing talents on various projects. A series of career twists and turns has offered her invaluable experience in journalism, magazine and book publishing, and fiction writing.

Kelly Thacher has written 30 articles for us.