a little enforced quiet is a very good thing

On the introvert/extrovert scale, I am the former, and fairly far towards the extreme. I don’t just want, I need time to myself, and I need quiet. I recharge by doing repetitive physical tasks (cooking, baking, cleaning, laundry, etc) in a quiet atmosphere, reading, or listening to music. Unfortunately, I live with three other adults, and two cats, so I rarely get the space that I need. Seriously, I have cats; I haven’t peed alone in my own bathroom in 23 years! I was therefore, relieved to drop my husband off at work today and head to the library where a nice lady gets paid to keep everyone quiet. 

Feeding four people who range in age from 45 to 68 can be a challenge. Everyone has their own tastes and preferences, but there are also dietary restrictions to consider as well as the nutritional needs of aging adults. For the most part, my in-laws feed themselves breakfast and lunch, and four days per week, they are on their own for dinner. On the weekends, holidays, and in-between semesters, I do all the cooking, and I do feel a certain obligation to make meals they not only like, but are reasonably healthy for them to eat.  

For those reading along - at the risk of being repetitive - lately I have been trying to fit as many meat free and low meat meals into our regular rotation as I can. I have no intention of becoming a vegetarian, but for now, excluding meat has reduced my grocery bill, and allows me to eat more food while still reducing the circumference of my waist. I am learning, in this process, that if I avoid the protein, starch, vegetable structure of the Western meal, I can serve vegetarian food and no one acts as if they’ve been deprived. It can be very disheartening to prepare a meal only to have someone stare at their plate like you’ve just ripped the stuffing out of their Teddy Bear and thrown on the ground in front of them.  

Breakfast/Lunch: frittata with shredded potato, onions, peas, and parmesan cheese 

Dinner: Mushroom Risotto 

That as they say is it for this Tuesday. A bit discombobulated, but fitting for the week. Tomorrow is the first long day of my husband’s new schedule. I am hoping to be able to put together lunch and dinner before bedtime tonight, because I have a strong intuition I won’t feel like cooking come 8:30pm tomorrow night.