Dear Cooking,
I had no intention of writing to you today, but you’ve really pissed me off.
I used to love you but now… I am so sick of you and your insistence on beckoning me every fucking night. I can feel my hatred growing. I’ve felt it for quite some time now, and soon, I’m going to freak the hell out. Like, more than I am right now.
Remember when I used to search for new recipes for hours? I was willing to try anything. And I enjoyed it… both the searching part and the cooking part. That time has passed. I’m sick of all of my dozens of dinner recipes. I’ve tried to find new ones, but it’s like I’ve tried everything. There’s nothing new out there anymore. And not knowing what to cook has fueled my distaste for you, Cooking.
I do know I brought some of this on myself. I never forced my husband to eat the healthy meals I prepared for myself. He’d have this grossed-out look on his face, so I offered to make him something else. That unfortunate habit continued with my kids. Once they outgrew bottles and baby food (during which time we were obviously not eating the same meals), I offered them the same courtesy I offered my husband.
“What would you like for dinner?”
I know. I am an idiot. And I’m also a short-order cook.
Some nights, I cook three or four different dinners. Some nights, only two. Rarely, only one. I have a (very) small stash of recipes I call ‘dinners everyone eats’, and I’m extra sick of making those… and eating them. And, as you might imagine, those are the least healthy of my dinner recipes. But some nights, if everyone else agrees on one of those, I take the win and I eat it, too, whether I feel good about it or not. Trust me, it’s usually ‘or not’.
I can’t seem to flip that switch… and tell everyone, ‘You eat what I make or you don’t eat,’ because my kids will literally not eat. And they will be brought to tears. No, seriously. They will. I’ve tried this many times. My son almost passed out one of the nights I tried this. But he still wouldn’t eat what I made.
I’m stuck with you… still not knowing what to make for dinner… and ultimately making more than one dinner… every fucking night.
No wonder I hate you. I know some of it is on me, but that changes nothing. I’m sick of you. Last night, I cooked for my son… then for my daughter. I told my husband he was on his own. And I skipped dinner entirely.
I still don’t know what the fuck to make for dinner tonight.
Sorry, Cooking. I’ve tried to repair our relationship, but I think it’s beyond repair. I’m done with you. I want a divorce.
Thanks for nothing,
p.s. — This does not apply to your cousin… baking. We still have a decent relationship.
©2020 what sandra thinks
what sandra thinks 
The trying to pick what’s for dinner is what I hate. I don’t mind the prepping, cooking, or clean up even. Hate having to come up with the plan though. I’m tired.
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I might not mind doing it if I knew what to make and I actually wanted to eat it. Oh, hell, never mind. I’m sick of cooking. I need to move back in with my mom!
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Hahaha! Hey man, I feel ya’. And, y’all would have a pool! 😃👍🏻
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Yeah… we would. But I don’t know if I want to bring anyone with me. Hahaha. I’m kidding. I’d miss my kids. But a week with just Mom sounds really nice.
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Yeah. We were supposed to be in FL all this coming week for spring break. This sucks ass. 😡
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Being broke, we had no plans. But one week off with the kids would have been so much better than this. No offense to my kids, but I went from having 6 hours alone every school day to 0 minutes alone now.
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That’d be a big adjustment, no doubt. Try not to hurt anyone. 😃😃
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Easier said than done. 🙂
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Oh my god, Sandra! You’ve got them all spoiled! I’d hate cooking too!
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I know. It’s bad. I guess I just want everyone to be happy… and I don’t want to deal with the alternative…!
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Man, I sure hope they appreciate it. You’re going above and beyond!
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I did it to myself. Kind of. It’s hard because when the kids were tiny, they ate baby food so I was already used to doing something different for them. And then my son… he became so picky. My daughter is less picky, but when she sees my son getting something by request for dinner, she wants the same. Can’t really blame her, but it sucks for me!
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Maybe they should learn to cook while they’re home from school! Just sayin’ …. 😃 At last they’d get an idea of how hard you’re working for them!
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My son would be so not into that. My daughter would like it, but she’s afraid of our stove because we have gas… so there’s the whole open flame situation. I guess I should come up with a recipe that just uses the oven… then she could make dinner! I used to make dinner for my family when I was her age! Back when I thought it was fun…
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Or maybe the slow cooker if you have one. I hope it works!
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Oh… I do have one of those! I’ll have to look for some recipes she might like. And then see if she wants to do it 100% on her own. Hm… maybe a slow cooker dessert recipe. Because I haven’t been baking every other day or anything… 😉
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Haha! I know I’ve been baking a lot too! 🤗
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Who knew that the hardest part of being an adult is figuring out what to cook for dinner every single night for the rest of your life until you die?
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I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not. 🙂 But I do think it’s one of the hardest things… partly because it’s every single night forever and ever… and ever…
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No sarcasm. I actually used that in a post on 13th March. As I do all the cooking I can wholeheartedly empathise.
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It’s just so tiring. I’m done with it. Of course, I still have do it…
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Oh, I get it. You’re using the letters of the alphabet and you’re writing letters.
How dim of me.
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Haha… don’t worry. I didn’t really explain the challenge. I guess because I’ve done it for several years now, I assume people know about it. Which is not a fair assumption!
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Hey, I cottoned on on day 3 of 26. Not too bad.
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Not bad at all!
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Cooking is great when its for fun, not for duty. Wish I had an accommodating mom like you. If we didn’t like what was for a meal, well…👀
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My mom was kind of accommodating. I hated broccoli so she had a dish that included it and she would keep it on the side. Stuff like that. When I was older, though, if I didn’t want her dinner, I could make my own. I’ve thought about that for my kids, but honestly, I think they’d take advantage of it far too often… and with that method, I have even less control over what they eat than I do now!
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😁
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Thank God for baking! When mine were little if you didn’t like dinner you could make a cheese or peanut butter sandwich. I never liked cooking enough to do separate meals. I’m getting pretty tired of it myself lately…
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I’m supposed to send my husband for groceries today and I don’t even know what to tell him to buy.
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Around here it’s a toss up. Hard to find veggies and fruit and some meats. We’re supposed to start wearing masks now and I’ve had groceries delivered but it’s a pain and what they substitute is weird. Like living in a sci-fi movie!
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I feel bad because my husband is still working, but since he leaves the house fort that, he feels like he should be the only one to go out. So he has to deal with the shopping. I need to figure out what to tell him to get, though. Ugh. Oh, and you can use a scarf instead of a mask. My mom did that this morning… she had to go to Target…
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I’m making them from shop towels and hair ties. The towels are like non woven heavy material and I read they are pretty good as filters. But maybe I’ll put them inside a scarf to be prettier 😷
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That’s a good idea… covering with a scarf. I mean, you could just wrap a scarf over your nose/mouth. It’s not perfect but it’s better than nothing, they say…
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Yes, yes, and yes!!! I’m so with you on this 1000000%!
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It’s exhausting! And frustrating!
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My least favorite words “What’s for dinner?” I use to enjoy cooking too until it was cooking for the family. Fortunately, my husband does a lot of the cooking so I get a break. Glad you still have a relationship with baking. Weekends In Maine
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My husband works late most of the time. Plus he’s not much of a cook anyway. And even when he gets home, I don’t want help because then he’s just in my way and it’s super annoying! Hahaha
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I totally get it. I’m so sick of cooking but I do like the cousin. I baked a cake and cookies from scratch this past weekend. It only took a couple of hours and then I was like “What the fuck do I do now?” Boredom sucks which then causes me to eat. Fuck.
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I don’t know what to do with myself anymore. Sometimes, I think writing is helping, other times it feels like ‘work’… like a chore. I don’t want to cook anymore but I have no choice. I think I’m getting sick of baking, too. Plus, my back is usually killing me by the time I’m done (with both cooking and baking). I do it anyway…
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