Summer Musings of a Control Freak: What’s For Dinner? Nothing (also seen on www.herrochester.com)
By Pam Sherman | August 14, 2010
Summer time and the living is easy…especially when the kids are gone for three weeks of summer camp. Yup. Three weeks. This year my husband and I traveled first to Chicago, where I taught Acting Skills for Your Professional Life at the Kellogg School at Northwestern, then off to Florida for a few days of hot heat. Two weeks down and one to go. While we spent almost two weeks on the road, it is amazing how much doing away with the mundane chores of every day life frees your mind to think, create, and breathe (yes, my mind breathes). Too often during the school year I’m a walking to-do list. I also feel like I have to keep track not only of my life but the lives of everyone else in the family - including the dog. I know this will change as my kids get older, but now, they still look at me every day and say, “What’s for dinner, Mom?”
During these three weeks no one asks me that question. In fact, sometimes, we don’t even eat dinner. One of the biggest pleasures of that trip to Chicago was spending time with my nephew and my sister and brother-in-law. I was speechless when I arrived at their house and my nephew, just turned 21, was making dinner. And not just boiling water for pasta - a gourmet dinner of rolled flank steak and summer succotash. I know that my kids will one day make dinner for us…but not if I keep my control freak on and don’t let them just figure it out for themselves.
While structure is the thing that gives me comfort in the busy pace of the school year, perhaps keeping the attitude of “we’ll figure it out when dinner comes” will loosen us up enough to allow my kids to be more creative and even, dare I say it, helpful. I have a feeling we won’t go hungry. “What’s for dinner, Mom?” ”I don’t know. Why don’t you make it tonight?” I’ll cross my fingers for creativity and succotash.
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August 15th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Hi Pam,
I’m trying to let go of my kitchen control freak habits too. Yesterday I allowed Natalie, 13, to make a smoothie and proceed to spill one whole pitcher of it on the counter before making another one. She cleaned it up herself. I kept my cool and grumbled only a little as I wiped up some leftover spill this morning. My new motto is,”If you eat, you help.” It’s good for everyone. And we all know that the most important person to keep happy is mom because if mom isn’t happy, no one is happy!
August 15th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Pam,
Jeff & I are now empty nesters again. We definitely eat differently, less structure, more whatever sounds good and is fresh. Enjoy you’re recharge and “breathing space”!