Anne Sims: I Survived Divorce, Cancer, & Job Layoff
Wow, I'm still stunned by the news that my family won the Ferguson Extreme Kitchen Contest! I feel so blessed and humbled by the tremendous support from family, friends, friends of friends, and even total strangers.
After my 20-year marriage ended, my three young daughters and I moved home to Augusta (my favorite place on earth) where we had the help of extended family. We were fortunate that my grandmother's former home, which had served as rental property for several years, was vacant. The house was built by a family whose downtown home was destroyed in the great fire of 1916. My grandparents purchased the property during WWII, and my grandmother lived here until her death. The house next door was built by my great-grandparents before the turn of the 20th century, so we have a strong attachment to the neighborhood.
In an older house, there's always something that needs to be repaired, replaced or remodeled. The most glaring need for us has been the kitchen; it was last updated in the 1950s. Back then, kitchens were simply a place just to cook food; they were not the center of family life. There's a sink, stove, refrigerator and a grand total of 58 inches of counter space. Our dishwasher's name is Anne.
Of course, the kitchen is the most expensive room to remodel, and, as any single parent can attest, it's nearly impossible to manage such a project with all the other demands on your time and paycheck!
For the Sims family, the past couple of years have been particularly challenging. My twin daughters were in college; I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and, finally, my job was one of several that were eliminated in August due to the economy. Winning the kitchen makeover is a wonderful way to break this string of events!
