When I was a kid I planned to be an astronaut. To sail amongst the stars, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no-one had gone before and still be back home for tea less my Mum get annoyed. I remember wondering what I would be doing at the end of the millennium, what 30 year old Matt would do, and whether I would have my own hover car or spaceship.
Then as I grew older my ambitions changed. As I moved in to my teens I dreamt of being Arsenal’s star midfielder, stepping out at Highbury and slamming in an awesome 30 yard drive to win the First Division. As I got past my ‘O’ levels my ambition became becoming a chartered engineer, a dream that I pursued at University and achieved back in about 1997, although I still secretly held out for a long shot that Arsene Wenger would spot me playing five-a-side and sign me.
Thirty five and I still have ambitions. I still want to float amongst the stars and hope that one day I might get the chance. I’ve given up on playing for Arsenal, but still hope for the hover car. Nowadays my ambitions are simpler; to keep my wife happy, be there for my friends and family and do the best for my imminent child.
And so in pursuit of my more mature (and some would say achievable goals), our new kitchen proceeds. You will note from the image that actually not that much has happened today which drove me to start the entry with something a little different. You see all ambitions are our view of what will make us happy. As a child our experiences are roughly hewn and we are easily impressed, as some life has been lived we realise that happiness can be found in the simplest of places. And for me it seems that much happiness can be gained from being with my family and turning our house in to a home for the little one and its Mummy. So here we are, the final phase in my home transformation masterplan. To you it may seem a little sad, but to me the new kitchen represents a small step in my ambition to look after my family…
