My Microwave

 

I went to heat something up a few nights ago when I noticed an item shoot by me.

It was the door button off of the microwave oven.

Now, I could put it back on and still use it but it accelerated something that I knew: it was probably time for a new microwave.

Shockingly, I didn't go into panic mode or overthink it. Oh, sure, I asked for a word of advice, but I had an idea of what I was going to get. As I have portrayed, I don't need anything fancy. I simply need something that does the basics.

I glanced at a few options on Amazon but, ultimately, bit the bullet and went to Walmart.

On a Saturday.

What, exactly, was I thinking?

Our beloved I-95 was a mess for what should have been a short drive to Norwalk. Instead, we crawled out of Cos Cob into Stamford before I took the back roads of Darien.

That allowed me to show Sean "Turkey Turnpike" and the wonders of Old Kings Highway.

If I've never told the story, I was on Old Kings Highway one time when I came across a gaggle of turkeys. One, in particular, decided to peck at my front driver's side tire. While it was a chilly day and my window was closed, you could still hear him pecking away.

I drove away without damage to the car or the turkey.

I still laugh about that, just as I do at recognizing that I can get around downtown Darien via Old Kings Highway.

And then it was onto Walmart.

On a Saturday.

It's not exactly a Mensa meeting that gathers inside any Walmart, particularly on a Saturday. Sean and I worked our way around, grabbing a few items before settling on a truly budget microwave that should do exactly what we need.

It's small. Not exactly something we'll have for years but who knows?

We use our microwave to reheat stuff. Never anything big.

I decided to pick up some microwavable popcorn for us to test our new purchase.

We grabbed lunch at a place that is normally closed on Sunday regardless of politics (come on, you know what I'm talking about) and returned home to set the microwave up. It's small -- no question about that -- but it did a pretty good job on the popcorn.

These aren't insignificant purchases for me. I mean, it's a microwave so it's not that big of a deal, but it still matters because these are the things that take steps further along on the road. The microwave we had probably dates to the early 2000s and I remember buying it at a Best Buy.

In other words, it was time. 

And it's mine (and Sean's). I suppose that's what is significant about it. More ways of moving forward.

We could also probably use a new toaster oven but one step at a time.