Stop Complaining and Just Eat

Growing up Dinner time was an important part of our day.  From the time I was eight and my brother was six we would eat our evening meal as a family.  That was difficult for my brother and me because my Dad came home at 7 pm every night but that was what our after school snack was all about. 

Eating Dinner together usually was fun.  We were all allowed to talk and even though I was young I held the same position in the pecking order as everyone else at the table as long as everyone took their turn.  The meal was usually a healthy well balanced meal.  My Mom and I were always “watching our weight” so she was very conscious of what she put on the table.  There was a meal template as follows; one protein source such as beef, chicken, fish, one starch such as potato, pasta or rice, a non starchy vegetable and a salad.  There was no dessert and bread was never part of our meal. There were no substitutions and there were never complaints.  It wasn’t as though my Mom was a gourmet cook.  She was a good cook but we were happy to have Dinner so therefore, no one complained.  It was a matter of the respect we had for her.

I tried to carry on this tradition in my own home.  I like to cook my own meals rather than carry in food.  There are two obstacles to preparing meals. One is the obvious, time constraints.  I work an hour away and I because my job is supporting computers and android devices I often work late or I am on call.  But the biggest obstacle is that someone is always complaining about something I serve. I just get sick of it. That is why I found this article in the Food Section of the Washington Post so interesting.

Apparently I am not alone. Here is what I don’t understand.  No one in my family is volunteering to prepare the Dinner meal. According to them either they don’t have the time or they don’t know how.  Fine! I will make the meal.  But I have added a new rule. (I have my rules just like Jethro Gibbs on NCIS). Rule number 44  there are no complaints at my table any more.  You don’t like the food find another place to eat or have a bowl of cereal.   But rule number 62 we will not have take out more than once a week still applies.  Someone will be cooking the evening meal in my house.  So put up or shut up or take over the cook’s duties.

 In fairness to my family I am working hard on improving my cooking skills as you can see in my new cooking blog. trying to cook So hopefully in the future I will hear fewer complaints.  If not well we will just wait and see. Read the article. It's the Family not the Dinner