Cooking with Dee

When I met my husband over 14 years ago he’d been dot-bombed, his company laid off over 1/3 of the work force. Last hired, first fired. They actually left “fire staff” as a to do item on a white board then left the conference room open. That made everyone’s weekend enjoyable…..To cut his losses, three weeks after we met he went back home.

Two weeks later he was back and staying with relatives. I found him a home 1,000 feet from mine. He couldn’t visit me (tried once in a Darth Vader voice/mask for dinner but it didn’t last five minutes) because he’s deathly allergic to cats. So I moved part of my kitchen to his place, as I’ve a well-appointed kitchen, then part of my office, then when we eloped, all of me and my stuff. The cat went to live with a Corgi neighbor he loved for years. The Corgi used to put Mickey’s entire head in his mouth, very gently. Yep, Mick did love him. All the dogs used to come by, even run away from home, to see Mick. I’d get a call early morning. “Is he there?” Hold on. Yep. I’ll take your dog inside and watch for your car.

J and I met three weeks after 9/11. He was back on Thanksgiving and starting early January with his new job and abode he liked to come home for lunch. He had an hour, so it was a 12-minute commute each way, lunch, and he’d snooze for about ten minutes while I did dishes before heading back.

One day I was making grilled cheese sandwiches and he walked in and said, “so that’s how you do it!” It was like my college roommates being startled that I could make brownies or mac & cheese from scratch!

The kicker was when I was kind of settling into his kitchen and he walked in one lunch time and I’d been washing plastic zip bags (never those in which meat or cheese were stored) and storing them over the sink and appliances to dry.

We did meet all the parents before we wed but he’d only met my mother at that point. The first thing I thought of was to grab all the wet plastic zip bags and stow them. All that went through mind those few seconds was “what would his mother do?” Well, it turns out my mother-in-law is a salt of the earth, frugal, industrious woman who thinks nothing of re-using things. Phew!

In other words, I did good, and gained a husband for life. He’s with his family, parents and grandmother, this weekend. Sometimes one does the right thing for the right reasons. I washed those bags and have created a food snob. He’s visiting his Nanny. I should say “our” Nanny because after our pre-engagement interview I told her I was so glad the “grands” had a Nanny. I never knew mine, grandmothers or one grandfather. So she offered to be mine. What a kind lady she is. With love for family, spouse, kids, pets and more, Dee