It's Saturday, so if you're a teacher, you might have had a hearty, delicious dinner with your family. I mean soccer season isn't in full swing, so you weren't at a field somewhere all day, right? Not teaching has allowed me to reflect upon how poorly I plan for dinner. You might think that after five children and a decade to become a working mom diva, I might be able to fix dinner regularly. Alas...
Yet unemployment has also meant no excuses. I can't say I have papers to grade, or that a needy parent had me on the phone after school. There are no staff meetings (let me just pause and allow the bliss of that reality to wash over me like a cool, refreshing spring). Therefore, when my two year old pipes up at 4:00 PM with "Mommy, what's fo dinnow?" I should have an answer.
For the past two weeks I've managed to compile a weekly menu for dinner. Yes, Teacher X, after taking roll and passing out that oh-so-meaningful worksheet, I planned meals.
How did I do it?
1. My own, poor brain.
2. My husband's wonderful cookbook of family recipes, lovingly compiled over the past ten years. Someday I'll convince him to publish it, and we will finally retire wealthy, well-fed and satisfied, but for now, it just helps.
3. http://www.allrecipes.com/
4. http://www.foodnetwork.com/ : Giada and Alton, if you're out there, will you marry each other and become my family's Alice? We'll build a room off the kitchen.
5. Refusing to turn into the drive-thru line, either by sheer force of will, or by guilt upon recalling the articles on child obesity and fast food marketing that I forced my senior classes to analyze.
These have helped me actually know what's for dinner and stick to it. Also, I had to stick to it because I bought the weekly groceries at one time. Some of you are thinking, "So what?" For me, this is a minor miracle. I like to joke that we enjoy shopping like Europeans, but really I'm at my local grocery store everyday because I haven't planned ahead. I'm trying to leave behind the relaxed, no-structure attitude of my twenties...
I left the body, the freedom, and the red wine behind, so why not the slacking as well?
Time will tell if I can continue this small, sweet structure of knowing what's for dinner. Until I'm teaching again, there may be hope.
What do you tell your two-year old? What's fo dinnow at yo house?
Thoughts on teaching in tough economic times and who we are in the classroom and out.
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1 comment:
I need to get into the habit of planning meals again. I have a great book called ONCE A MONTH COOKING. Using the author's recipes and shopping list I can prep and freeze a month's worth of meals in a weekend. In fact, I think I'm going to blow the dust off of that book right now.
gini
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