By mid-March, you will see me in the kitchen (no, not yours—mine) regularly. Not because I am a culinary artiste; I cook well enough to stave off starvation at best, but because I intend to show you what the love child of Martha Stewart and Mr. Wizard would look like. I am taking on crafting and science for Dads… on video! It’s a hot mess, I guarantee it, but it will be fun!
Before this happens, I want to set you up for success. Therefore, in preparation for this train wreck, it is important on many levels to understand that there is life outside of the happy meal producing drive through lane.
Welcome to the kitchen
Some of you are intimately familiar with the kitchen. Some of you may be under the impression that it is a mysterious place where divine intervention keeps beer frosty and belly-filling dinners produce themselves, as if by magic.
What you may not realize is that it’s no Willy Wonka chocolate factory in there. Much to your disappointment, you will not find any Oompa Loompas running around (if you do, please invite me over sometime!) Real people do real work in there—and its time you joined the working class. No golden tickets required!
It’s social
Long before Facebook and Twitter were dreamed of, the kitchen served with distinction as the one true social Mecca. If your kitchen table could talk, it would tell stories of first birthday messes, the frustrations and successes of homework assignments, intimate conversations, victories won on game nights, and *ahem* a few other miscellaneous excursions, maybe?
Don’t be scared
You need to get in there and spend some time. It may be intimidating at first, and I understand this. I’m asking you to step out of your comfort zone a little, into a place that may very well be taboo in your household. Remember, it’s for the good of us all. Just follow the head chef’s rules and you will be invited back. These rules are usually pretty basic: clean up what you mess up, don’t rearrange anything (even if it makes more sense), and lend a hand often.
Some of you aren’t convinced. I’m not luring you into a bear trap. I wouldn’t do that.
Have you ever participated in the group trust building exercise where you close your eyes and let yourself fall backward toward your peers? Well, for this to work, you are just going to have to trust me and let yourself fall. You will be caught.
If that isn’t enough, here are a few value-added extra benefits of entering the kitchen:
- If you are a gadget hound, they often house these things called dishwashers. They are super cool and now come in fully automated models!
Seriously, though:
- Conversations actually happen in there—real conversations with real people that matter to you—about real things.
- Laughter happens in there—remember that? Laughing with your partner, kids, and friends? It’s the spice of life. Put away the ketchup bottle and sprinkle on a dash of it. It will make the taste buds of your soul dance!
- Connections happen in there—not the kind you add to your Blackberry—true, lasting connections. Ones that provide you with the most important things in life; sharing thoughts and feelings with your significant other, hearing about their day, finding out what your kids did at school, expressions of fear and excitement, reconnecting at that sub-superficial level that sometimes wanes after time and comfortability add their two-cents.
So if you haven’t been, book your ticket now. Get in there. Enjoy it. Bask in its glory. You never know, you may actually find yourself scheduling a return trip.
Your kitchen table loves to sit and visit. Isn’t it about time that you share some new stories?
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Stay tuned for the next installment of ‘Cooking isn’t for Dummies’ where we will discuss more about things that can actually happen in the kitchen…like cooking when it’s the chef’s day off!
Kitchen image used under Creative Commons guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.thetilefiles.com/country-kitchen-cabinets-018-p.jpg
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