Stroke of Genius . . . Out of Lack of Inspiration
I've talked about it before, but I get bored fixing dinner. We so easily get into ruts of eating the same things week after week. I've done pretty well the past few months, but the old "lack of inspiration" was coming back. In addition, there was a fair amount of frustration that my family doesn't do much to help with the whole process. If I ask, they'll tell me something they'd like for dinner, but otherwise, they arrive at the table, eat what's served, move plates to the sink, and go about their business. No one contributes to the planning, shopping, preparation, or clean up.
I decided instead of getting mad, and being passive about it, (as I tend to be about most things related to household chores. It's an ineffective method of getting them to help, I know. Plus it makes me feel super dumb, but it's a habit I struggle to break), I assigned Andrew one night to plan and prepare dinner. Alexa . . . one night to plan and prepare dinner, and Doug gets 3 nights. Y'all this idea was a STROKE OF GENIUS! What came about from me being sick and tired of carrying the entire load- has been 2 weeks of awesome.
Since I came up with this idea around July 4th, they didn't really get to plan their first meal- so much as cook what I instructed because we needed to use up what I had on hand. This week they got to plan, and prep what they wanted. Alexa chose to fix breakfast: pancakes, eggs, bacon, and grits. (I didn't want to curb her enthusiasm, so I let her do pancakes and grits. Although in the future I will have more guidelines). Andrew chose to make pizza.
I remember several years ago, when my kids were spending a few days with my parents, and my mom said that as part of her plan for their daily activities, she would have each one fix a meal. I thought, "Jeez age has impacted her memory. She clearly has no idea what it's like to cook with kids. It's torture." I generally don't particularly enjoy cooking with my kids. It takes a level of patience I don't always have. It's probably related to the fact that when I fix dinner, I am hurrying to do it because we have to get somewhere, or we're hungry. I don't feel like I have the time to allow them to measure out stuff or crack eggs. or figure out another task they are able to do independently. Or, if we're not rushing somewhere and I'm fixing something particularly good, I don't want to have them invading my "alone" time. However- this summer, I am building time to fix dinner into our daily schedule, so there's not really a sense of urgency to hurry up and get dinner fixed; which means I have built time in for me to be patient. Yet again I am learning that putting forth a bit of effort, and planning in advance, makes for a happier me.
I decided instead of getting mad, and being passive about it, (as I tend to be about most things related to household chores. It's an ineffective method of getting them to help, I know. Plus it makes me feel super dumb, but it's a habit I struggle to break), I assigned Andrew one night to plan and prepare dinner. Alexa . . . one night to plan and prepare dinner, and Doug gets 3 nights. Y'all this idea was a STROKE OF GENIUS! What came about from me being sick and tired of carrying the entire load- has been 2 weeks of awesome.
Since I came up with this idea around July 4th, they didn't really get to plan their first meal- so much as cook what I instructed because we needed to use up what I had on hand. This week they got to plan, and prep what they wanted. Alexa chose to fix breakfast: pancakes, eggs, bacon, and grits. (I didn't want to curb her enthusiasm, so I let her do pancakes and grits. Although in the future I will have more guidelines). Andrew chose to make pizza.
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| She made her pancakes from scratch. |
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| Andrew made his pizza dough from scratch |
I remember several years ago, when my kids were spending a few days with my parents, and my mom said that as part of her plan for their daily activities, she would have each one fix a meal. I thought, "Jeez age has impacted her memory. She clearly has no idea what it's like to cook with kids. It's torture." I generally don't particularly enjoy cooking with my kids. It takes a level of patience I don't always have. It's probably related to the fact that when I fix dinner, I am hurrying to do it because we have to get somewhere, or we're hungry. I don't feel like I have the time to allow them to measure out stuff or crack eggs. or figure out another task they are able to do independently. Or, if we're not rushing somewhere and I'm fixing something particularly good, I don't want to have them invading my "alone" time. However- this summer, I am building time to fix dinner into our daily schedule, so there's not really a sense of urgency to hurry up and get dinner fixed; which means I have built time in for me to be patient. Yet again I am learning that putting forth a bit of effort, and planning in advance, makes for a happier me.
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