Kiss Your Countertops, People!!

Before we left on our mission, we went to visit a couple- the Hills- that lives in St. George (Bloomington) that served in this same mission.  Considering there are only five senior couple missionaries in the whole mission, it's quite remarkable that there was another couple from our little town.  They were most helpful in preparing us for what we would encounter.  She said, "Here's what you'll have in your kitchen: a fridge, a two-burner gas stove, a microwave oven that doubles as an oven,  a large sink, and a two-and-a-half foot countertop.  I wondered at the time how she could know what I would have.  When I got here, I found out.  EVERYBODY has the same thing.  EVERONE'S countertop is 2 1/2 feet.  Actually, the mission home has a large kitchen with a real oven, etc, but I'm sure it was custom designed.  But what we have is standard for a Japanese kitchen.  At home, it seems I (and so do you!) have miles of countertop space.  Here, the same little space has to be used to drain dishes and do all of the meal preparation-everything.  It is a constant challenge- especially with all of the baking and cooking I do.  So I guess the purpose of this post is to help you appreciate what you have.  Kiss your countertops and tell them thank you . . . for me!