Back up and punt

I had my week planned. Cooking at my MIL's house and cooking at the rental house until I left Sunday morning and returned home to make a triumphant Sunday dinner at home with my husband. And then... yeah. That didn't happen. My poor MIL's cold turned into something much worse. She couldn't sleep for the terrible coughing and breathlessness and of course I couldn't ask her to watch my energetic children when she clearly needed to rest. So I skipped out on my conference and headed home. I got a late start and so we didn't get home until 10 p.m.

I made cereal for dinner.

At first I felt defeated and sad but then I thought about it. There was cereal in the house, and milk and bread to make sandwiches for my daughter's lunch. There were vegetables in the crisper, potatoes in the bin, and fresh meat in the meat drawer and in the freezer. There was a new case of juice boxes and lunch snacks in the storage over the cabinets.

Who caused this joyous accumulation of well-planned and nutritious foods? My husband. While I was gone he had done our quarterly trek to Costco and bought all of the supplies we were running low on; a chore we normally do together. When I came home the dishes were washed and the kids drawers were stuffed with clean folded laundry.

So even though my plans fell through, I have a partner who keeps things going for me and thinks ahead about my needs and the needs of our family. That is pretty sweet and makes even cereal for dinner feel like a feast.