Recalled to Life

That's the first phrase that came to mind when I looked at this blog with the intention of writing something, and realized how long it had been since I had. Which is odd, because this is normally the time of year when I go from having at least a nominal life, to a life swallowed up by work, school and other activities that go along with those things. But, it is from the book we've been reading/listening to lately so it must not have been too far from my conscious thoughts.

I've actually started several entries over the past few months, but they just never make to the bit where I push the 'publish' button. Even as I sat down to write today, I wasn't sure what I would say. I just knew I needed to start somewhere. To say something. To make a beginning all over again.

Recalled to life.  That is my decision. That is what I intend to pursue.

Cooking and feeding my family well is important to me, and I admit I've had a difficult time keeping up with my previous standards since I took over a very demanding job last year. I don't have time (or energy) these days to spend days making clotted cream, homemade jam (from backyard strawberries) and scones for a single afternoon tea. I buy buns (or ciabatta bread) for burgers instead of making them from scratch, and I even allowed The Kid to buy boxed cereal instead of making soaked, dehydrated granola and homemade yogurt.

He made it to 13 without ever using a microwave, opening a soda can or eating corn flakes and now he's done all three. Sure, the cereal we buy is a 'better' brand. The microwave was when he accompanied me to work this summer and we ate there, and the soda can one of the 'real sugar' drinks, but I know there are those out there who would tsk and judge.

But, I think he'll survive. We all will. No one needs that kinda stress about food. 

Another of the things I've done is alter my meal framework. The categories I used a year ago no longer work with my new schedule. It was silly to keep trying to make it fit (and failing miserably). So I started from scratch with an honest assessment of what was possible and it's been working quite well for several weeks now.

To start with, all weekdays are exhausting, but certain ones more so. Monday is - well, it's Monday. Tuesday is my most demanding work day. Wednesday we have after school commitments. Thursday is a reasonable day - not so exhausting, and there usually isn't anything scheduled and Friday is even better.

So, Monday became 'take something out of the freezer' and Tuesday, 'homemade pizza'. Wednesday is still pretty much 'Whatever', since it's the one night we usually can't manage dinner together. Thursdays  we cook together - a simple family favorite. On Fridays we eat out, (or order in) and on weekends we cook more complex or time consuming recipes and make double and freeze when we can.

Home-cooked food with less cooking (and clean-up) during the week; cooking together on weekends. Spending time together in the kitchen, and dinners together at the table. 

Recalled to life.

Edited 12/13: Another activity was added to our Wednesday schedule in October so we tweaked things a bit. Monday, Thursday and weekends are the same, but we moved our 'eating out' night to Wednesday. Not only does it make life easier on our busiest day of the week, but it means we can meet somewhere and have dinner together instead of eating separately. Tuesday is now 'Whatever' (minus the alteration) and on Fridays we make pizzas.