Half-Baked and Parboiled Me

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. … She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family …” ~Proverbs 31: 10-11, 15

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; ... Is not life more important than food ...?” ~Matthew 6:25

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." ~John 6:27

I do not blame my oldest child at all, but, ever since she was born, planning menus, preparing grocery lists, and executing decent meal preparations has tended to be a struggle for me. I have joked many times that if it weren’t for my hubby (who, fortunately, happens to be a great cook), we would have starved to death within weeks of her birth. I don’t know if some permanent atrophy occurred in my brain, or whether it’s just a lack of will borne of perpetual “Mommy Fatigue,” but whatever the case, I am finally acknowledging (after nearly nine years … how pathetic) that I really do need to take action on this.

I am tired of staring at the pantry, then the refrigerator, then the pantry, then the freezer, then the pantry, then the refrigerator, then finally all three at once while uttering unintelligible mutterings that might be interpreted as: What am I gonna fix for dinner? There’s nothing to fix for dinner. Ugh. Why can’t I get on the ball with this dinner stuff? Man, we’re even out of leftovers. Let’s see, there’s one chicken breast, a can of cream of celery soup, dill pickles, coffee creamer, and six cans of tomato sauce. Oh, brother. I’ve really gotta get a handle on this. Anyone up for macaroni and cheese … again?

Don’t you think for a minute that I wouldn’t have any takers on the Mac ‘n Cheese proposition, but understand that they would all be under the age of ten. So why am I spending time writing about this rather than taking action? I have identified two primary reasons:

1. I am hereby petitioning for suggestions. I have several good (read, “easy enough for a mom of elementary kids to reasonably be expected to prepare”) recipes, but, to be honest, we’re all kind of tired of most of them. Do you have any menu or recipe recommendations? If so, are you willing to share? I would love to try them!

2. I know that if I put this in writing that I am much more likely to actually do something. It’s a matter of obligation, actually. My husband reads this blog. In fact, he called me at work several weeks ago just to let me in on a little secret.

“I read your blog.”

“Yeah …?”

“You called me ‘dear’ and a ‘saint.’” (I could hear the delight in his voice.)

(rolling my eyes) “Uh huh.”

“I’m gonna remember that.” (His words were undoubtedly vocalized through smiling lips, while my response to his banter was slightly less chipper.)

So, that’s how I can be so sure I will (have to) follow up on this admission. I really must do something about the fact that I suffer from complete brain freeze when it comes to planning and preparing food, and it’s not ‘cause I stand too long mumbling to myself in front of the icebox. It’s ‘cause now that it’s in print, my husband's “gonna remember that.”

:-)