Divide and Conquer

Submitted by Kim Darrow

"He managed breakfast and packing lunch ... I was in charge of dinner"

When it came to getting meals on the table for our family of five, my husband and I divided and conquered. He managed breakfast and packing lunch for the kids until they were old enough to pack their own lunches. I was in charge of dinner. Sometimes I let the kids watch TV while I cooked (I know, bad mom). We may have eaten out and ordered in more than some families too.

To help at breakfast time, after our third child was born, we upgraded to a 4-slice toaster. It was a big help in the mornings, and even today my adult children love their buttered toast!

I went through a phase of batch cooking where I would make a bunch of meals for the freezer on Saturday ... that worked pretty well until I got tired of doing it! I also tried purchasing meals at "Super Suppers" for a while but the kids complained ... they liked my food better! I would generally plan ahead and we would eat the same meal two nights in row. That worked well as long as the meal was tasty!

In general, having dinner around the table was really important to us and we made it happen one way or another. I miss those days ... even the time I found broccoli in the centerpiece.  I guess my son pulled a fast one on us that night!

​Kim Darrow is a Support Project Manager who earned an MBA degree from Colorado State University.

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