Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

 

Thanksgiving is a malleable holiday for our family. Sometimes we go to a friend’s house, sometimes people come to us, sometimes we drive for hours to be with family. Sometimes we just have our little household of five. I prefer having guests over. There are a lot of random dishes that only make an appearance once a year. Green bean casserole, candied yams, those jelly cranberries that just slide out of the can. When it’s two adults and three kids that basically only want mashed potatoes, rolls and turkey, there’s a ton of leftovers. But if I can get some help eating all the food, it’s just more enjoyable.

Thanksgiving was awesome. We hosted my husband’s family this year, and I got to cook all the yumminess. Little known fact, I love to cook. Some of my friends loathe the thought of standing in the kitchen for hours, but that’s where I come alive. When my sister-in-law arrived with her delicious pies, she inquired how she could be of assistance to me. I told her, just stay out of my kitchen.

My kitchen is smaller. Well, my whole house is kind of small, so it fits. Our kitchen is a hallway between the family room and the living room. So at times it’s a very high-traffic area as children are running from one end of the house to the next. If I have the oven or the refrigerator door open, it almost completely stops the flow of traffic. The thought of having another person standing in the kitchen with me, kind of raises my stress. That’s one more person I have to navigate around and because I have food trust issues, I’ll still have to double check their work — might as well just make it all myself.

When I first got married, that’s when I realized I preferred to cook certain foods myself. I couldn’t stand the thought of Brian making the mac and cheese. I know that sounds dumb, but I enjoy my boxed mac a certain consistency. I rarely cook according to the recipe (which is why baking is not my specialty). If the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of butter, I’ll probably put in 2.5. A cup of milk? How about I add less water and increase the milk to make it creamier. One teaspoon of salt — don’t believe for a second that I measure salt. I found that it was just easier for me to cook. I mean, I thoroughly enjoy cooking, so why not just do it myself?

Some people get mad when their spouse or guests don’t help them in the kitchen. Not I! In fact, all I need from them is to make sure the table is set up, and please clean up my insanely delicious mess when we’re done eating. I just spent 3.5 hours cooking for you all; you can spend 30 minutes doing some dishes and wiping the table down. I feel like that’s a fair trade.

There’s something magical that happens in the kitchen when I have a pan in the oven, a pot about to boil on the stove and my Instant Pot beeps. That’s the moment when most people call for help. For me, that’s the moment when the symphony begins. My brain switches gears, and I enter the Matrix. I see every recipe clearly, and I know exactly how long I have to work on each item before I must gracefully attack the next dish. Getting the gravy to thicken while not burning the rolls — it’s an art, really. And I’m Picasso.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams.