I think you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their refrigerator. Not the inside, necessarily, but the outside. (As my own refrigerator is generally empty inside, visiting relatives is often a treat. I must say I adore opening the refrigerator at my folks' house. It is always jam packed with goodness...my favorite iced tea, yummy leftovers of scrumptious meals, all kinds of cheeses...but I digress).
Refrigerator doors are real-time commentaries of the lives of the owners. You can easily tell a person's priorities by looking at the various objects stuck to his/her fridge.
1. First and foremost, are there any snapshots? This is one of the clearest indicators of who/whom holds the owner's heart. A dear book club friend of mine invited me to her lovely home a month or so ago. The first thing she did was lead me to her kitchen and offer me some sweet tea (yum!) I looked at her refrigerator snapshots while I sipped my drink. The most prominent photograph was of her fluffy dog dressed up in a Halloween outfit. Surrounding that snapshot were other photos of other dogs in Halloween outfits. How wonderful is that!? Her beautiful dog is like a child to her and she so treasures him. (And, for the record, I think the little cutie-patootie has the absolute softest fur ever. He snuggled up to me at a book club meeting and it felt as if I was under a cuddly blanket. Anyhoooo....)
2. Secondly, what kind of artwork is posted on the door? Are we talking photographs of masterpieces taken on European journeys? Are we talking the scribbles of a pre-schooler? Years ago I was a "Big Sister" mentor to a struggling foster child. One week, after our "girls outing" she gave me a crayon sketch. Let me say I all but had that picture matted and framed. I can barely express in words the joy I felt to be given the creation of such a precious child. Let's just say that piece of art adorned our fridge for years until we packed it away for our move to a new city.
3. Thirdly, what types of reminders/schedules adorn the refrigerator? Bible study meetings, race registration forms, school calendars, soccer practice? I love to look at my sister-in-law, Susan's, door. She has snapshots of my kids framed in plastic magnets at the top (OK, that may be one reason I love her door...) and snapshots of my nephews. She has artwork and schoolwork from the girls stuck to the fridge. And then she has a schedule of whatever chef classes she's taking. She's an amazing cook and is always learning how to do fabulous things like make pasta, or risotto, or home made bread. (To a chef like me who generally chooses a can to open and, after warming the contents, announces "Dinnertime!" the concept of creating delightful dishes is a foreign one...) And then I must also digress and say that I love looking inside her refrigerator, because it is also always chock full of my favorite things!
Our own refrigerator doors are fabulous, if I do say so myself. The top portion is maintained by yours truly. Although the kids have been known to drag a kitchen chair over to the fridge, climb onto the chair, and snatch a photo or two to fully examine. The bottom portion of the fridge belongs to them. We have photographs of my daughters and nieces kayaking, of my husband carrying the girls piggyback up a mountain in Virginia, of our daughters ice-skating on the river beside the church where we were married. We have birth announcements, wedding announcements and a one page essay on "My Favorite Christmas Gift Ever." We have pink tissue paper Valentines Day hearts and a scarecrow magnet made with straw. Spelling test words, choir concert reminders, flag football schedules. Two art class chalk renderings of St. Nicholas, and colorful alphabet letter refrigerator magnets.
But one new wonderful thing I noticed just this morning. Across the side of the refrigerator, so that it may be viewed by anyone using our computer or in our den, is a sweet phrase spelled out in magnets. Undoubtedly placed there last night by the Bug or the Pea, proclaiming: I LOVE YOU.
Couldn't have said it better myself...
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