"Elaine" stayed for dinner tonight.
When I got home from work, I looked in the freezer and all I had was venison (nah), pork chops (all pork-chopped out, thankyouverymuch), and 3 tupperwares of frozen chicken noodle soup. As I didn't have any aspirations towards cooking tonight At All*, I decided it would be Soup and Sandwich Night at La Casa. So I whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches while heating up the soup (and a left-over pork chop from 2 nights ago for Dillon, who eats more than your average human) and called the troops down. As I was cooking the last sandwich, I heard Elaine telling Dillon (in the most innocent and super-sweet 15-year-old way) that "her mom never cooks like this and always has like 5 things to eat. She never makes grilled cheese for Dinner".
I've always had grilled cheese for dinner. It's like a Family Tradition. Tuna, Grilled Cheese, Fried Egg Sandwich... all acceptable dinner fare in The House of Mounce. But now it occurs to me: are not all families like that? Do some people actually have a Real, Well-Rounded, All-Food-Groups-Represented, Dinner Every Single Night?
*Come to think of it, I didn't feel like cooking last night either and we had Tuna Sandwiches. Hmmm...
As Dillon took her home, I got to wondering... I've always known that we Parent differently than most people, and I've always attributed it mostly to our being younger than our parent-peers, but now, as I approach 40, I am realizing that in fact, we (mostly me) Are different. I don't think in a bad way; I hope in a Fun, Open, non-therapy-inducing way, but it's interesting to see how the teenagers react to us. As opposed to little kids, who are pretty much accepting of everyone.
I asked him, when he got home, "Are we weird?"
"Yes."
"Bad Weird?"
He got a smile on his face. "Actually, as we were walking down the steps, she said, 'I like them.'"
And I am relieved. "Weird" is ok. "Embarrassing" is not.
2 comments:
When my Dad worked night shifts as a cop, my mom often made pancakes for dinner. And, if Dad was in charge, eggs were his specialty. I had a boyfriend in high school who was scandalized that we were eating Christmas dinner at 3pm. "Dinner is at 6!" I like weird.
I guess my family is pretty weird too. One of our favorite dinners is "hodge podge" - which can vary from heated up leftovers or fried egg sandwiches to a bowl of cereal for dinner. Sometimes I don't want to cook (and they don't want to eat) a full meal with meat, potatoes and a veggie.
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