One of the manifestations of my extreme introversion is the fact that I love to eat by myself. Love it. Just me, my food, and a book, and I am one happy Kristin.
However. Eating alone is virtually impossible with two little shadows named Cubby and Charlie around all the time. At breakfast, I usually eat standing up by the stove while I make the second batch of eggs or pour more milk or whatever. I spend every dinner time nagging about table manners and eating while getting up and down to wipe up spills, pour more milk, get more food and on and on and on.
I think often of the quote from the movie A Christmas Story: "My mother has not had a hot meal for herself in fifteen years."
Anyway.
So breakfast and dinner are definitely out for solitary dining. And that's okay. It's part of this insane mothering life. But lunch . . . well, lunch is sacred. Lunch I plan for and finagle nap schedules (for Charlie) and cartoon viewing (for Cubby) all day so I can sit down by myself to this:
Cheese sandwich (sharp cheddar, mayonnaise, mustard), potato chips, iced tea (sugar and lemon), and a book (Witch, by Barbara Michaels).
It doesn't even matter what I'm eating (though sandwiches and chips are hard to beat); all that matters is that I'm eating it by myself and reading. No talking, no getting up, no nothing but me, my food, and my book.
So what about about you, my lovelies? What's your happy place in the midst of the chaos?
Reading out on the desk in "acceptable" weather, with only Chester the dog for company!
ReplyDeleteI Love eating by myself! It's always nice to see someone else write what I think.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say, my happy place is being in the garden at night with my headlamp on. I'll pick slugs, squash beetles and fuss over plants for hours. After the Tot is away in dreamland, and my H is firmly ensconced in his recording studio, I just mess around out there until I get too tired and then just go to bed. My ultimate happy place.
And now I want a cheese sandwich. That sounds so good.
My fondest dream when my little one was little to make it through a meal--any meal--without having to get up from the table for something. Took a while for it to happen, but lo these many years later, I still appreciate it whether I'm by myself or not.
ReplyDeleteSounds great. I love it when the house is totally quiet and I can read on the sofa in the living room. As that is the TV room as well, I pretty much have to be alone in the house for that to happen, so it is a rare treat. But so nice.
ReplyDelete-moi
In your dad's and my life now there is never any chaos, except when the family visits I guess. However, when y'all were small, the first time I was able to close the door to the bathroom and not be disturbed was a wonderful thing.
ReplyDeleteStartling similarity alert - lunch is my sacred meal, too.
ReplyDeleteThough the situation changes as needed, the sacredness is in the meal itself. Like, I want a PROPER lunch.
I'll happily snack or graze through breakfast or dinner, but lunch is My Meal.
The last two years I've been taking my lunch in our department's salvia garden (yay for horticulture!) with a book and it's been glorious.
Hopefully with the new job, I'll be able to find a spot on the farm for a quiet moment with my proper meal and a book, too.