The Thankless job
We often pass a busy intersection in the small town where I live and my husband has sighed more than once looking at the traffic policeman saying what a thankless job it is, rain or shine, standing and directing traffic and each time immediately, I am reminded of my own chores as a homemaker making me wonder how thankful a job it is in comparison.
I have been passionate about cooking right from my teenage years.. We used to buy a magazine 'Women's Era' (now I'm sure, there will be an issue with even its name if it was around) and there used to be recipes in it, which I used to try and surprise my mother. Later I used to look up cook books(I have a vast collection of those) I used to cook when I was happy or sad, when there was a birthday or an anniversary, when I was going to visit people or when people visited me, when someone had a house warming or when somebody's daughter conceived. Cooking for me was a genuine way of conveying that i cared and shared in their joy. My Google continues to throw up recipes and even now, I zealously try out those that have caught my fancy.
But why is cooking done by a homemaker so taken for granted? Although I am not duty bound to cook for my guests, be it the extended family, or friends, I am still traditional enough to do it.. But what irks me is the lack of appreciation or gratitude or gratefulness for all the effort that has been put in to turn out a thoughtful dish. When one spends say a couple of hours to prepare a meal, is it too much to expect a word of appreciation that takes a couple of seconds?? A simple 'Thank you, I enjoyed it'... Wouldn't it completely reward all our labour? But No.. It never comes and we condition ourselves not to expect anymore.
So, i am telling myself this nowadays..when you have people around- don't fret and labour alone in the kitchen.. Just dress up well and casually say "Let's go to the new restaurant" and enjoy a good meal. It is definitely not worth the slogging anymore. This way, your back doesn't ache for a couple of days later, you don't need to wait for that word of appreciation and above all that, Nobody minds anymore.. And definitely don't forget to pay a courteous return visit!!
