buggy sign by Lyndi&Jason, on Flickr
Sometimes I feel so…different. At the orthodontist’s office the other day, for example, the receptionist and I started talking about homeschooling. We don’t really have “school hours,” I explained, we just live and learn as we go. I do a lot of teaching from the kitchen because I’m there so much. She knows we have a large-ish family and thought a moment. “I’ll bet you cook a lot. How often do you cook?”
“If all goes according to plan, I cook three meals a day, six days a week.”
Her jaw dropped and she was utterly dumbstruck for several long seconds. “You cook…BREAKFAST?!”
“Most of the time. There are a couple days a week that we have some homemade cereal if I have an early appointment or I’m not awake enough to cook safely.”
“What kinds of things do you cook?”
“Oh, you know, bacon and eggs or pancakes. Muffins a lot, they’re easy.”
“What do you make for lunches?”
“Today we’re having lunchmeat sandwiches because I’m not going to get home until right at lunchtime. More often, though, we’ll have a homemade soup or some pasta.”
“Yeah, Chef Boyardee is a blessing huh?”
“We try to have it a little more fresh than that, and making homemade sauce is almost as easy as opening a can anyway.”
“You make homemade stuff for lunch? What on earth do you do for dinner?”
“A roasted meat and a couple vegetables. Nothing extravagant. I have planned a squash casserole to use up some of the butternut squash taking over my kitchen, but we’ll have a simple meat like hamburger patties or roast chicken with it.”
From there, the discussion evolved into CSAs, the farmers who grow my veggies and provide my meat and milk. Then, the dreaded question, “The milk is all pasteurized, right?”
“Um, no. We drink it raw.” This time, her jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out. “But, I have an allergic daughter and a lactose-intolerant husband who can both drink raw milk who can’t tolerate pasteurized.”
She loves asking questions like that of me when we are there. She knows she’ll hear something totally different from me than she hears from most of the moms who come to the practice, and I think that’s probably why she asks. But it still sometimes makes me feel…so different.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays, hosted by Cheeseslave.
The Dark Side of Fat Loss
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October 21, 2009 at 11:09 am
CHEESESLAVE
LOL! Love it!
Our housekeeper and I were laughing the other day because she has to clean the oven every time she comes but she has not ever had to clean the microwave. She said none of the other women she cleans for cook like I do.
October 21, 2009 at 1:06 pm
motherhen68
When I purchased my Kitchen Aide mixer @ Walmart, the checkout lady says “oh you must cook a lot if you’re spending this type of $$ on a mixer”. I replied “Yes, I cook 3 times a day”. Then the rudest comment I’ve ever received from a Walmart employee came out “Oh, you must be unemployed”. How or why does my employment status have anything to do with cooking healthy foods for my family?
I avoid this gal every time I see her.
October 21, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Lisa Sargese
You are my hero! Yes I suffer the bug eyed reactions too. I’m warned how dangerous the raw milk is (I’ve been drinking a gallon a week since May and have had no ill effects only improvements in my health!). You did it tactfully, sincerely and informatively. Brava!!
October 21, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Alyss
It’s great to talk to people who are really willing to listen, isn’t it? Even if she didn’t agree with you she was able to hear you and you planted some seeds in her mind. So often people dismiss different things as “gross” or “awful”. Sounds like you had a good conversation!
October 21, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Jessie
Wow – I know what you mean. I had a weird conversation recently when people were all talking about when they were getting a flu shot – and I blurted out that my doctor doesn’t recommend getting a flu shot. Stunned looks. I gave a very tiny explanation when asked – but everyone seemed uncomfortable & I think the subject changed.
October 21, 2009 at 8:49 pm
cellulite analyst
When someone asks me about milk, I usually say that I drink “fresh” milk from cows that eat grass. I think the word “raw” might have an unappetizing connotation for some people and conjure images of eating raw meat. But the word “fresh” is always positive, and might make people wonder if the milk they are drinking is fresh, too.
October 22, 2009 at 8:43 am
Cara
Good idea up there with the ‘fresh’ milk vs raw.
I get the same kinds of reactions about what we eat, though it’s usually over what I’m buying at the grocery store (whole foods) or if someone offers my little one something to eat. No sugar. No color. No gluten. No casein. What does she eat? Then when I ramble off all the things she can eat (soup, eggs, almonds, meats, fruits and veggies) they say that their kids would never eat that stuff and we kind of awkwardly part.
October 22, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Marcy
Haha, one time a clerk tried to make some clever comment to my niece and nephew about getting their milk from a cow and they responded, like my aunt does? He was dumbstruck.
I wonder if the way you feel ‘different’ is related to the “loss of innocence” Pay Now Live Later talks about in this article: http://paynowlivelater.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-nostalgia-shapes-our-food-fantasies.html
Sometimes I wish I could be ‘normal’ and eat garbage ‘like everybody else’ but reading your blog and others reminds me I’m not alone and I’m (probably) not crazy.
October 22, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Laurie N
Well said.
It reminds me of the looks and questions I get when I ask about getting organ meat and chicken feet. Even the folks who know a bit about the benefits of farm-raised versus factory farmed are still often a bit squeemish about using parts other than skeletal muscle for people chow.
Friends sometimes tease me about making everything from scratch, too, although generally in a friendly way. Some people, unfortunately, will just never understand.
October 23, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Janice
This post sort of infuriates me. You’re not “different”, you’re real and you clearly have your priorties in order. Cooking three meals a day is supposed to be “odd”? Why? In my opinion Chef Boyardee is odd. And disgusting. And I would never let it touch my childrens’ lips. Don’t balk or cringe when you answer her questions. Stiffen up and answer her like she’s the crazy one.