In my younger years, I was quite the hostess. In fact, any friends whom have attended one of our festive get togethers would probably say that everything I made was delicious! So this might surprise some of you, but in my family, I am the one that is known as “the terrible cook”.
Of course I have never been one for using exact measurements. I’ve never liked measurement. I didn’t like them when I learned them in fourth grade, I don’t like teaching them, and I don’t like using them. My grandparents and parents were, and are, wonderful cooks and my grandmother was definitely a gifted baker. Homemade pies, cookies, fudge, divinity, caramels and her infamous “Granny Gooch’s dinner rolls”. If you have ever lived in the small town of Duncan Oklahoma and knew Granny, then I am sure you have been gifted with a pie plate full of her homemade delicious rolls at some point. So after she passed away in 2007, I thought I owed it to her to give baking a shot and try out those “measurements” everyone’s been talking about!
Let’s just say that I learned the importance of measurement when baking. I also learned, through unpleasant consequences, that there really is a difference between baking soda and baking powder. So I ventured into baking, and I actually wasn’t half bad. I even made a decorative cake for my son’s first birthday and my daughter’s birthday that year. Of course, I had to take a day off of work to make the damn cakes, but the mission was accomplished! I was actually pretty impressed with myself!
Since we live in Louisiana with my in-laws and most of my husband’s family, being from Oklahoma makes me a fish out of water. I definitely cannot compete with their competitive nature and Cajun cook offs. If I’m honest, yeah, maybe my feelings were a little hurt in the beginning, but almost 20 years in, I could give a shit! Of course, I tried to win them over with my country gravies, fried okra, Granny’s rolls (to this day I’ve NEVER gotten it right on the first try), and Texas chocolate sheet cakes, but those days are over. If you didn’t hear me the first time, let me repeat myself…I COULD GIVE A SHIT!!!
I laugh, share and re-post all these little memes on social media about how mothers didn’t realize that signing up for marriage and kids meant that you would be preparing hundreds upon hundreds of meals for the rest of your life! Much less having to plan for it!!! I have to laugh at it, because the reality is so on cue that I’d be crying my eyes out on a daily basis. My least favorite words my husband still dares to utter are, “So what are we doing for dinner?” You can guarantee that when those words fly out of his mouth by the time he comes home I’ve already Googled half a dozen divorce lawyers.
So now I’m getting to “the art of unlearning”. Listen closely, this is for all the burnt out mothers or fathers who are just completely out of steam when it comes to daily meal prep. I unlearned by learning how to over cook pasta, undercook rice, prepare chewy chicken, under seasoning, over seasoning even the simplest of meals. I’ve unlearned with such success that my children’s faces cringe with disgust and they let out the most unpleasant sigh when I say, “I’m cooking tonight”. This has ultimately shifted the responsibility to my husband. I have mastered unlearning so well it’s led me to think, “What else can I fuck up for the sake of sanity and a little more me time?” 🤔
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy cooking and baking. In fact, I can be pretty good at it. But now, it’s on my terms! Stay tuned for the art of unlearning how to do laundry. That shits a bitch!
Love you