Thank you for this. My littles are still tiny and my kitchen is my domain, but it was a jolt to read this and realize that it won’t always be this way (mostly because I’m sleep deprived and cannot picture it). But when I think about it, David is right… I want them home and happy and cooking. In “my” kitchen.
Beautiful. When I cooked in my mother's kitchen, she'd follow me with a spray bottle and rag to wipe up my splatters. She saw it as a mess and disruption; I saw it as expression.
As usual with your writing, I relate to so much here. My parents' house is like a museum - beautiful art and every single thing in its place with no dust or crumbs anywhere. It was also this way in our house growing up in spite of the fact that there were three messy kids. Her kitchen was always pristine and she discouraged our presence in there. She would make an exception to bake with me now and then and was able to put aside her intense need for neatness enough to allow me to enjoy that time with her. I'd love for my kitchen to be a place of creativity and fun for my kids but I just can't. For most of their lives, I have had some kind of self-created job working with food and our kitchen is my office. I love working with food but I need to be efficient and when there are people in there with me, I get stressed out. But I love the idea of doing enough prep that your people are encouraged to create dishes/snacks for themselves. We always have plenty of leftovers but nothing to assemble. This will be a work in progress!
Wonderful piece. I absolutely adore In the Night Kitchen and I read it a gazillion times to the kids, as my mom had done for me, but I'd never really thought about how it relates to my own kitchen. I'm in a sticky spot with regard to the control I wield in the kitchen. I don't love cooking-- in fact I often abhor it. Not the cooking itself as much as the relentless need to do it when no one else will, because damn it all, we just. never. stop needing to eat. I often implore my people to step up and cook, but they usually don't and it's likely because I haven't particularly wanted to spend time teaching the kids how to do this thing I don't love to do. And because, I think, the idea of a Big Mess makes it feel even harder than it already feels. But, this piece makes me feel like I can let that go, at least sometimes. You've given me hope!
Thank you for this. My littles are still tiny and my kitchen is my domain, but it was a jolt to read this and realize that it won’t always be this way (mostly because I’m sleep deprived and cannot picture it). But when I think about it, David is right… I want them home and happy and cooking. In “my” kitchen.
Beautiful. When I cooked in my mother's kitchen, she'd follow me with a spray bottle and rag to wipe up my splatters. She saw it as a mess and disruption; I saw it as expression.
As usual with your writing, I relate to so much here. My parents' house is like a museum - beautiful art and every single thing in its place with no dust or crumbs anywhere. It was also this way in our house growing up in spite of the fact that there were three messy kids. Her kitchen was always pristine and she discouraged our presence in there. She would make an exception to bake with me now and then and was able to put aside her intense need for neatness enough to allow me to enjoy that time with her. I'd love for my kitchen to be a place of creativity and fun for my kids but I just can't. For most of their lives, I have had some kind of self-created job working with food and our kitchen is my office. I love working with food but I need to be efficient and when there are people in there with me, I get stressed out. But I love the idea of doing enough prep that your people are encouraged to create dishes/snacks for themselves. We always have plenty of leftovers but nothing to assemble. This will be a work in progress!
Wonderful piece. I absolutely adore In the Night Kitchen and I read it a gazillion times to the kids, as my mom had done for me, but I'd never really thought about how it relates to my own kitchen. I'm in a sticky spot with regard to the control I wield in the kitchen. I don't love cooking-- in fact I often abhor it. Not the cooking itself as much as the relentless need to do it when no one else will, because damn it all, we just. never. stop needing to eat. I often implore my people to step up and cook, but they usually don't and it's likely because I haven't particularly wanted to spend time teaching the kids how to do this thing I don't love to do. And because, I think, the idea of a Big Mess makes it feel even harder than it already feels. But, this piece makes me feel like I can let that go, at least sometimes. You've given me hope!
Your writing just blows me away. Wonderful