At times life can be all consuming. Especially
given that if one wants to survive, they must
eat. Hence much of my day is spent deciding
what to eat and when. Whether at home or out,
orchestrating intake is at best a necessary evil.
Even for a guy like me who likes to cook. The
daily grind of menu planning is monotonous.
And inescapable given that even if we try to
forget, our stomach reminds us. Hence day
after day, meal after meal, I find that I rebel at
being responsible for the planning, procuring,
preparing, serving, and then cleaning up our
daily bread. It's the inescapable cycle of life.
No wonder our mothers made the same meals
over and over again. At some point the very
idea of trying something new becomes more
mundane than a repeat performance. Even the
most creative of cooks have a repertoire. A
cycle of favorites from which they feed those
they love (including themselves). Surprisingly
rote is often the stuff that memories are made
of. No wonder many of us crave something
Mom made again, and again, and again. And
oddly we never tired of. If only we could be
equally fond of our daily chores. That never
ending routine maintenance of basic survival.
From day one it seems that like it or not we
all must make our beds and then lie in them.
Yet some parents resist forcing their children
to do just that. Allowing them to avoid the
inevitable. Especially given doing so only
sets them up for disappointment. The manor
born aside, ultimately we all have to clean up
after ourselves. Even if it's in preparation for
the cleaning lady's arrival. Thus learning the
facts of life from an early age on makes life
easier. Like doing the dishes. It's a necessary
evil. Thus the sooner done - the better. One
of life's tasks that are simply inescapable.
Some of us have to learn the hard way. Years
ago I discovered that if you didn't put oil in
your vehicle - it would stop. While even the
best of us don't enjoy routine maintenance,
we've no choice but to keep going. Hence
while the mundane may bore, it's a fact of
life. The challenge is to somehow enjoy the
ebb and flow of life itself. And the rewards
that come along with it. Little is better than
slipping into a crisply made bed each night.
Or donning a freshly pressed shirt in the
morning. Or sipping a glass of wine after
dinner at home. It's ALL worth the effort...
