Cooking

I love to eat. Seriously, everybody does, but I don't think many people savor their food like I do. I like the textures, the tastes, the weight, all of that goes through my mind with every bite that's not weird, right? However, I'm often times too impatient to cook. So I end up microwaving some noodles, ordering out, or eating something quick for dinner like a fruit salad that takes maybe 2 minutes to make. I think that's the problem with a lot of people my age when it comes to life and love.

We're a microwave generation. We're used to instant meals to make us feel full when all we really crave is a home-cooked meal, something made with time and love. We don't cook because we weren't taught to. A lot of us (especially only-kids and oldest kids of teen parents) learned very quickly to do for ourselves (and our siblings) the safest best way we knew how. Nobody ever came in later to say "Hey, you want to learn how to make XYZ? Here's how." If we wanted to eat it, we had to learn to make it for ourselves. I think that translates into our society now as we want to do great things, but we want them to be in an instant, or at most three and a half minutes, not realizing, or realizing all too well but not giving three damns, that anything worth having is worth working for and waiting on.

Those of us who do cook learned from observation, trial-and-error, or we followed direct instructions. Over time, it became second nature, but to those around us, we make it look easy. From a woman who's always cooking up something, whether thoughts, college papers or whatever, listen closely: It. Ain't. Easy. It takes forethought, it takes planning, it takes following instructions, and most of all, it takes knowing who you (or the people you're cooking for) are and what you (or they) are about. I get it wrong a lot more than I get it right, but when I do get it right, I feel like it's the best thing I've ever made and I log it away for another time. Take that. Apply it to life. Works the same.

On occasion I'll throw down Southern Slam style in a kitchen. But then afterwards I look at the mess and think about everything else I have to do and I feel like "Yeah, this'll last me for awhile," and we all know left overs, even of a good meal, are still left overs. Sometimes I set out the ingredients but think about all the instructions and all the time it'll take and just put them back for another day. Sometimes I'll just keep going back to the fridge hoping a real meal will be there every time I look. As my mother always says "A fool is one who keeps doing the same thing but expecting different results."

Sometimes I forget that you have to enjoy cooking as much as you enjoy eating. Sometimes you have to enjoy the journey of life as much you enjoy living it. I also forget that things take time. If I want it, I should work towards it, and not get discouraged with the detours as they'll make me a better version of myself. A tastier dish ;).

Spreading the love
Dropping the knowledge
And making you hawngry :P