Sweet Gummi Mary! I could hardly believe what my ears were hearing! It was all I could do to keep my hands to myself, and not wrench Farmer H's right arm from the steering wheel of A-Cad, and snap it like a turkey wishbone!
About 8.5 hours into our 10-hour return trip from Oklahoma on Thursday...the subject of Christmas Dinner reared its need-a-thumping head. Farmer H said I should get a meal in a box. He'd seen one in The Devil's Playground in Norman, Oklahoma, when we took The Pony grocery shopping.
"I'm sure they have them for Christmas, too. It has everything you need. Turkey. Ham. Green beans. Mashed potatoes. Stuffing. I don't remember what else."
"Sure. But not the special items you all like. The deviled eggs. The green bean bundles wrapped with bacon. The hash brown casserole. The 7 Layer Salad. The roasted vegetables. The Oreo Cake. The chocolate pie."
"Well, most of it will be in the box. Then you could just add the others."
"And you think that box cooks itself?"
"It said all you have to do is microwave it!"
"Mmm. That would be delicious, I'm sure."
"Well, I'm sure I'd like your food better. But you get all stressed out."
"That's because it's stressful, getting everything ready on time. Preparing for days ahead, so everything has time to get bought, mixed together, and cooked. Then you eat it in 10 minutes, after I've spent days on it, and I have hours of clean-up to do."
"I agree that it doesn't take long for us to eat it. But your stress takes away from my enjoyment of it."
WHAT IN THE NOT-HEAVEN?
"Uh. MY stress from days of preparation and clean-up takes away from YOUR 10 minutes of enjoyment eating the food? Well, EXCUSE ME!"
"You grandma did it, and she was always all smiley and happy. And SHE got up at 3:00 to put the turkey in. You just put it in at 5:30. I don't know why you have to get all stressed out."
Sheesh! It truly IS a man's world, and they just allow us to live in it. But grudgingly, unless we conform to their standards.
7 comments:
Both of you have good points there and I'm wondering now, if he is suggesting the "Meal in a Box", would he be willing to give up some of the extras he loves so much, to see you less stressed over all the work involved?
Or is the real deal worth all the effort you put into it?
Is there any way at all that you could possibly share the workload?
Further discussion sounds like it might reveal other ways to enjoy the Christmas Dinner kerfuffle.
Perhaps save a couple of the much-loved extras to make at a different time, like a birthday.
I think you should go ahead & break his arm (except you would have to be his nurse while he heals)!!
River,
It's worth all the effort, as long as I get shown a little appreciation for my hard work. That comment about my stress ruining his enjoyment during his 10 minute feeding frenzy made my blood boil! Not only no appreciation, but a slap in the face for daring to have feelings.
There's no way to share the food-preparation workload. It would be like supervising a toddler with a sharp knife. Farmer H just needs to keep his mouth shut, or every now and then ask if there's anything he can do. And maybe help a little with the clean-up.
***
fishducky,
Well, I'm glad for that advice, because I hadn't really thought it through! That would be like biting off my nose to spite my face.
I noticed the freezer case at my Walmart was full of those meals in a box, marked down from $49.97 to $25. Must be that men were the only ones who thought it would be a great idea. I noticed that he said you could add all "the other stuff" to the meal in a box. The stuff in the box is the EASY stuff!! I think you should take him up on it and serve only the meal in the box so he won't stress.
Kathy,
I actually searched the freezer case at The Devil's Playground for those box meals today, and there was nary a one! So I got a sliced ham, some baby potatoes, carrots, onions (two were already rotten when I got them home(DANG THE DEVIL), and some Sister Schubert's Rolls. That will be what Farmer H feasts on this week. I'm not going all out. I did buy a big bag of lettuce, so he might get a "Mansion salad" (the equivalent of a house salad).
Yeah, I really want to take away Farmer H's stressing over my stress! It's the least I can do for him.
I guessed as much with the effort being worth it if only a thank you was forthcoming. you could try training as you would a toddler, by handing him something but not letting go until a thank you is said by him. Would that work?
River,
He might be more attuned to thanking me now, after the STRESSED OUT kerfuffle. I can see that toddler training working for a while, though, as long as I make a joke of it. Otherwise he'll say, "FORGET IT!" and storm out without taking the proffered treat.
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