Neena Strichart
Last week I wrote about my weekday morning before-work rituals. Today I would like to focus on telling you about how I spend my weekday evenings.
Most of the time, I leave work between 5:30pm and 6:30pm, and unless I have a meeting to attend or a dinner engagement, I head straight home to “unwind,” as my father used to say.
My first order of business is to greet my pets (if Steve is home I greet him too) and change into comfy clothes. After a quick glance at the mail I start foraging around for something to make for dinner. In our home I do nearly all of the meal preparation. I asked Steve to fix dinner once— to no avail. He said he couldn’t find anything to make, “just a bunch of ingredients,” whatever that means.
I grew up in a family where Mom and Dad both worked outside the home, and although Dad would help cook once in a while, it was mostly a chore left for Mom. I think she enjoyed fixing nutritious meals for our family. I know I like to cook, but I have to say, being on a gluten-free diet sure has its challenges.
Nevertheless, after I cook, we sit down at the kitchen table and take our time eating dinner. I know that some ladies will squawk at the revelation that I work all day AND do the cooking— but fear not, there is a saving grace; I do NONE of the clean-up. That’s right, I said I do NONE of the clean-up. I don’t even clear the table. My darling husband Steve claims that he is so grateful that I do the meal-planning and preparation that he feels cleaning up is the least he can do. I agree.
After dinner I watch a bit of television— usually one of my guilty pleasures like The Bachelorette or Project Runway, or maybe some old re-runs or part of a movie that I had recorded earlier in the week. It’s rare that I can sit still and watch a whole movie without pausing it and doing a load of laundry or checking my email. My mom always said I couldn’t sit still— or rather that I had “ants in my pants.” I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Anyway, after a quick run through my email and Facebook accounts, I head off to bed to read a bit before turning off the light for sleep.
I’ve heard it said that some people find counting sheep helps them nod off to slumberland. I have several other methods. I might count I Love Lucy or Leave it to Beaver episodes in my head or try silently naming all the businesses on Atlantic Avenue. I think my favorite sleeping aid is trying to think up all the cartoon characters I watched on television as a child. Remember Top Cat and Popeye? How about Deputy Dawg or Quick Draw McGraw? All I know is my goofy methods work for me. What works for you?
