Chronicles of Chaos

October 2, 2007 | Print

Alice Waters at the Farmers Market or Why I don’t cook much

We did an Alice Waters on Sunday.

We shopped at the Farmers Market (sampling kettle korn, crepes et al), brought home our fresh, local organic produce and meats, then whipped it into a delicious dinner.

Or rather, Michael whipped it.

Amelia asks, “Mom, how come Dad always cooks?”

I’m too tired from doing the laundry.

It keeps Daddy busy.

(Dad knows how to cook better than I do.)

() are areas of expertise that Michael and I cede to the other for various reasons, but which in the end, prevent the unannointed one from developing his/her skill set.

A therapist once observed that today’s couples want partnership, yet rarely sit down and decide who’s doing what, leaving space for traditional gender roles to assume control of the situation.

I generally prepare most meals, though for special family dinners Michael chefs.

I obviously do the laundry, and then the rest is a hodge podge. No one’s in charge so everything sort of gets done, and we regularly complain that nothing seems to get done well and what we need is a house manager/keeper to tidy, organize and oversee our lodging.

I consider whether the two of us should sit down and assign ourselves duties, but managing Tivo is the only job I want and that’s really a control issue.

I like knowing that we both pick up the slack when the rope feels too loose.

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