I think food tastes better when created with love, when my mood was off, so was the pot roast. The meals as well as our lives fell into this comfortable pattern, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not big on change, so I had an iron clad food schedule. It was biblical, Godly, a ritual recipe for each day of the week. We had chicken on Monday, tacos on Tuesdays, pasta on Wednesday, and pork roast on Thursday, but Friday was my day of rest. I do not cook on Friday, it’s my sabbath, in fact I do not even think about food on Friday, because that would be a sin. This was a well established and heavily publicized practice, one that Larry never fully embraced.
Every Friday, without fail, he would say, “What are we doing for dinner?”
“Honey, you know I don’t cook on Friday.”
“Maybe I should order a pizza?”
“I have no thoughts (not to be taken literally).”
I’d get the look.
I’d give the look.
We chugged merrily, merrily, merrily along, until…
One day I looked around and the children were gone, the leftovers started stacking up in the refrigerator, and no one came into the kitchen asking, “what’s for dinner mom?” (The family joke that I don’t find particularly funny.) It was one of those illuminating moments, when you notice the child who once sat in your lap, has a child of her own. Change can be so incrementally slow as to be unnoticeable, one morning you wake up, and scream, “What the hell happened here?” I haven’t figured out how to cook for two, it’s an implausible reality, because truthfully I don’t like what it represents. An empty nest.
I don’t like the term “empty nesters.” I prefer “parents of free range adults.” Robin Fox
You choose the number of people to be served, the number of meals you want to receive each week, along with a few dietary options. The ingredients are fresh, laminated recipe cards are enclosed, and all you have to supply is the olive oil. There are no leftovers with this service, because the food is good, and the portions are controlled. We consider this a benefit at our age. It takes about 30 minutes to prep a meal.
“When mothers talk about the depression of the empty nest, they’re not mourning the passing of all those wet towels on the floor, or the music that numbs your teeth, or even the bottle of capless shampoo dribbling down the shower drain. They’re upset because they’ve gone from supervisor of a child’s life to a spectator. It’s like being the vice president of the United States.” Erma Bombeck
We open our box each week with great anticipation, as if Christmas became a weekly event, than we pop a bottle of wine while cleaning and chopping the produce. Before I knew what was happening I noticed Larry was wearing an apron. It was fun cooking together, like a hot kitchen tango, he seared the meat, I roasted the potatoes, and all was well for a while.
It reminded me of the time I taught Larry how to snow ski, within the span of two days, his skills surpassed my own. As my time became consumed with caring for my mom, Larry started prepping the meals on his own, so we could eat when I got home. And just like that I hung up my cape. Now I sip wine and blog while he crushes it in the kitchen. I’m a little nostalgic about my cape hanging on the fire extinguisher next to the refrigerator, useless, tattered, beloved, because deep down I want to be useful.
“I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find – at the age of fifty, say – that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about…It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.” Agatha Christie
Larry is more casual about organization until he needs something. As you can imagine, he responded beautifully to my nagging, I had to abruptly leave the kitchen when he started blaming me for his catastrophic mood swing. Bill Pronzini says, “Men have mood swings. Women have mood leaps, mood swirls, mood loop-de-loops,” but he exaggerates. Thirty minutes later Larry found me pouting in my room. He handed me a beautiful plate of risotto with a rather smug expression on his face.
Reaching for the plate, I remain stoic, until he said, “You’re welcome (elevating the second syllables of each word),” and walked out of the room. Rude.
I said to his departing back, “Apology accepted.”
Oh I know what you’re thinking, and your right, it’s absolutely ingenious, and oh so satisfying. I plan on continuing this deviant behavior until a proper apology is made. So basically our kitchen will be in disarray until one of us dies. “This is not the woman I married,” he says hoping to guilt me into submission. I say to the man in the flour dusted apron, “vous récoltez ce que nous semez.” (you reap what you sow)
I’ve heard things can get interesting after the kids leave but I never expected Larry would be wearing the apron and I would be keeping a disordered kitchen.
I’m Living in the Gap, because you won’t find me in the kitchen, drop by anytime. Or slide on over to Across the Board for my monthly post.
Leave a few kitchen tips in the comments for Larry, he’ll be so grateful…
Living in the Gap 
Oh this is fantastic. We are far from free-range parenting here, but the dance we do when it comes to where things go and how things are done? Well, let's just say I laughed out loud because I see us in your post. And it really is the dance we do. As for cooking, I believe wholeheartedly that food is how we show love and care for our loved ones. When my mood is off, so is my food. I see it all the time and it's kind of fascinating. Great post. Really.
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Lisa you're living in the sweetest time of life, enjoy the tender moments, along with the raging madness! Trust me when I say you will miss it one day. Lisa publishes an entertaining blog called The Meaning of me, check her out! http://www.themeaningofme.com/. Thanks for the comment Lisa.
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\”One day I looked around and the children were gone,\” paragraph made me cry… then I laughed through the rest. So love knowing you and your cook personally so I can truly imagine the drama playing out. Thank you for sharing with us all. Love you bunches and always. smg
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I blame (credit) you and Wendell for this post, it was after the shower, after enjoying dinner in your perfectly ordered kitchen, that I realized how disordered my own had become. When I returned home and noticed the pots taking up residence where the salad bowl belongs I went ballistic. So began the kitchen wars and let me just say it makes for entertaining evenings. Thanks for reading, the kind words, and a healthy dose of inspiration. Love you 💜
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Pack up the Blue Apron and your hubby chef… come to NC and we will open a couple bottles of wine. Love you both!
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Larry likes to throw peanut shells on the floor while he cooks…I'm sure Wendell's down for that…I'll bring more wine. xoxo
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