Making
Macaroni means coming to terms with the fact that I can't cook and really
don't need to learn.
Growing up I was always busy with sports practices, after-school
activities, newspaper deadlines and school trips that I never took the
time to learn to cook. It was just never an interest of mine.
I was reminded of this lack of talent while The Doc and I attempted to
cook dinner for his parents while they were gone at church. "Go cook the
inside stuff," he said while standing in front of the grill. "Inside
stuff?" I replied."Macaroni and cheese will be fine," he said, with a
tone of disappointment as he knew I probably couldn't make anything
else.
But I think he was assuming that Mac n Cheese would be something I could
handle.
I approached the stove with confidence. I can do this.
Twenty minutes later I stirred butter less, milk less and bright orange,
half-cooked pasta noodles. I did it.
Well, to my surprise, nobody likes uncooked pasta noodles and clumpy
cheese. The side dish went untouched and The Doc lovingly giggled
along with his parents as they attempted to convince me that it is okay
to not being good at cooking.
I can't cook. I've known this for awhile. I don't even have an interest
in cooking and I am totally fine with it. So, why do I feel like a robot lacking a battery?
Every woman in my family can cook and practice their skills every night
as they cook dinner for their boyfriends or husbands. The expectation my
family puts on being able to cook is a high one and it gets me thinking
about expectations.
Is the reason I feel like I am lacking something by not being able to
cook because of the expectation that I should?
Its silly for me to think
that I should have this expectation because between me and The Doc, the
idea of me cooking dinner went out the window about 4 years ago. But
still I wonder, would he be happier if I cooked him dinner?
In relationships there are always expectations and as a young adult, it
can be hard to determine which expectations are too high and which ones
are plausible. For The Doc, he does not expect me to cook because he knows I do not like it. But what if he did?
When it comes to expectations, how do you know when you've been
over-cooking or under-cooking?
