NANCY'S NOTES

This is downright embarrassing, and I will no doubt regret it as soon as I see it published in my spot on Page 2, sent out to the world and all ten of my readers. But I’ve decided to come clean and begin the New Year with full disclosure. I know this will hurt, but you’ll get over it as soon as you start working the crossword puzzle on the facing page.

Pictured below is my kitchen junk drawer. Yes, I can see some of you rolling your eyes and shaking your head. And yes, I know this now destroys your impression of me. Some of you think I’m all neat and tidy and put together and organized. And now I burst that bubble and show you this. It’s kind of like hanging underwear out on the clothesline—it’s hard to unsee something that’s just so… so… scandalous.

I could say this is a game of Seek and Find—you know, those hidden picture games you see in magazines while waiting at the doctor’s office. See if you can find these items: floral wire; eyedrops; chapstick; twisty ties; tape measure; letter opener; garage door opener; flame flicker; wine corks; etc. I can tell you’re bored with this game already.

I try to organize, sort, pitch… but it’s hard to actually throw anything away because it’s all useful stuff. You never know when you’re going to need a zip tie or a magnet, a box opener or hand sanitizer! But any attempt at organization is just good for the moment. Fifteen minutes later the stash has taken on a life of its own, and the next time I open the drawer, it is once again total chaos. Someone looks for one thing and the whole drawer seems to explode.

I give up. In fact, I gave up many years ago. There has been a kitchen junk drawer in every house we have lived in. As soon as we move in, the first thing we do is determine which drawer in the kitchen will be the junk drawer. Never mind planning for placement of silverware or pot holders or towels; the designation of the junk drawer gets top priority. Where else would you keep a tiny piece of something else that you can’t find so that when you find it, you know to go to the junk drawer for the other piece?

I bet you think I’ve made a New Year’s Resolution to figure out how to organize this junk drawer. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong; I discovered another reason for keeping my kitchen junk drawer. When our family was home for Christmas, I saw the eyes of my five-year-old grandson as he stood there, in awe, looking at every. little.thing. inside that junk drawer. He has a lot of his dad and his grandpa in him. It’s that natural ability to fix things, build things, put things together, using whatever he can find. I could see it in his eyes. I could hear the wheels turning in his crafty little head. And then it hit me! I didn’t need to buy him that new set of Legos for Christmas! I could have given him the kitchen junk drawer, and he would be busy for hours!