Sometimes you wind up with two people in one house who are really good at things opposite of each other. For the most part, this works really well until it goes out of balance. Like when one of the people thinks they are better at the thing they suck at. Maybe like meal planning.
This is about a person who doesn't know how to plan ahead when it comes to meals. If that person isn't hungry at that moment, absolutely no thought is put into what if hunger shows up later.
That's where I come in, being really good at everything food. I've head cooked in a 450+ seater establishment. That takes unbelievable coordination and planning. That's only one of my food qualifications in a childhood of processing organically grown food and a lifetime of food prep in a dazzling array of circumstances.
For instance, while I'm recovering from a double surgery, I know I can get the nutrients I need for a week from a dozen eggs, a half gallon of milk, a block of cheese, a bag of potatoes, a head of broccoli, a cup of dry rice, you get the gist. I'm very good at simple, filling nutrition in a pinch. I easily turned some of that into a rice pilaf, a tossed potato salad with green beans, a protein shake, etc. I did this with minimal effort and easy clean up since it was for one person. It's the best way I know how to lighten the burden of caretaking on others since I'm allergic to so many things and cross contamination is a very scary thing in pre-prepared meals.
I told my family while I'm recovering during the first week, their job is to feed themselves. They are to use plasticware, paper plates, disposable cups, take out, whatever it takes to keep the kitchen clean. Keep it easy.
That sounds like a good plan, doesn't it? It's not hard to grab a Wendy's salad or a takeout pizza, right? How easy is it to buy a frozen dinner or bring home Chinese?
So I'm hobbling on a swollen knee with a high pain level, one of my hands completely useless, and one night- they cooked. ??? Um, hello? Pots and pans? Guess who washed those....
So tonight I fixed my own food and settled in, a person arrived home from work without any takeout, and said they didn't feel hungry yet, maybe open tuna later.
Context- I had offered a tuna melt once a week all summer and was turned down every single time. The one week I ask to keep it simple and easy, they want to drag out a tuna mess. This is a person who leaves dishes around and never, ever actually washes a dish.
I am really good at being a servant in my house. I'm super good at spoiling someone on a regular basis because I'm a really good cook. I'm so good at handling all the work this involves that consideration for my one wish to keep my kitchen clean on a week that sucks for me was airily dismissed with Meh, i wasn't hungry while i was driving past easy, ill drag out a mess later that wasnt good enough the rest of the summer. Because, of course, I'm good at making it look easy.
I'm beginning to understand why older women seem angry all the time.
I'm really good at thinking ahead about other people's needs and discomfort in given situations. He's really good at keeping bills paid on time. I know it all evens out, but when its his turn to hobble on a week off, I'll bet he won't feel like eating tuna. Or more, making it himself.
I didn't ask anyone to feed me or clean up after me this week, just themselves.
I'm suddenly in the mood to make a tuna casserole on Thanksgiving.
Some of you might be thinking how ironic this is, given my tuna history on twitter.
