Mr. Mom
Greetings, friend!
I hope this missive finds you well. This beautiful summer continues to rocket by faster than I can fathom. We have some good friends who are relocating to a different city. I have loved watching their kids grow up, and wanted to throw them something of a farewell brunch. Yesterday I whipped up a batch of buttermilk biscuits, a pan of sausage gravy and some chocolate chip pancakes and we had a great time. The kids lavished Nova with affection. It was so wonderful. We’re going to miss seeing them day-to-day, but look forward to visiting them in their new home.
Somehow the 1983 movie, Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr hit my radar recently. It prompted me to reflect a bit on how different our household has been in comparison to the one in which I grew up. From my perspective, they are strikingly similar - but they are different in terms of who does what around here.
As our primary cook, I fill the role that my mother played when I was growing up. I fell into it organically - Lori commuted to work while I worked from home. This put me in the position of being "first responder" when it came to getting dinner on the table. Sometimes it also made me the giver of baths to our young boys, and reader of bedtime stories if the demands of her career called for her to be out of town, or working late into the night.
Food, diet, nutrition, dinner - however you frame it, we’ve got to eat. And I’ve been the person to to make that happen, more often than not. It's less unusual for a man to play this role in households today, but being the family cook still tends to be “women’s work” in some peoples’ minds. Regardless of how I fell into this role, I’m glad that our boys got see me cooking on a regular basis. Feeding one’s family should not be considered a gendered activity. We all like to eat good food (however one might define that), so whomever is in the best position to get the job done should do so.
It’s no secret that I think that love is the secret ingredient in home cooking. We regularly rely on food to celebrate our accomplishments, to lift our spirits, or nurture us back to health when we are under the weather. Thoughtfully deciding what food will meet the moment is important, I believe.
Life is a team sport! There are a lot of different ways to get the essential activities of a household handled. I’m glad that our boys got to see the flexibility that both Lori and I bring to these essential tasks.
As for the movie Mr. Mom, my short review is that it doesn’t hold up very well. Too many sexist tropes, sad to say. It was interesting to revisit this piece of culture that was released just as I was entering high school…times certainly have changed.
Sunday Supper
In last week’s post, I mentioned that I was thinking of zucchini fritters. I made these last Tuesday, and they were delicious. Last Sunday I made this Lebanese stew called Loubieh (pronounced LOO-bee) - something I do every year. Both of these recipes represent the epitome of summer eating. I’m so predictable - Facebook literally served me a reminder that I had made a post one year prior of the Loubieh that I made around the same time last year! You can set your calendar to my cooking patterns.
Sunday Music
This Sunday, I am pleased to introduce you to the Neo-soul group from Amsterdam called Feng Suave. This 20-minute concert is a fine listen on a Sunday morning. Enjoy!
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,
Neal