laura bush has it so easy

while her husband is going on and on, yelling at the world that he is the 'decider,' i hope laura bush realizes how easy she has it. because he is the 'decider,' i imagine that when she says "george, what would you like for dinner?" he decisively yells "pork chops!"

our family operates as follows: i plan, shop for and cook the food. the kids complain about it. the husband cleans up. he is responsible for feeding the kids a handful of times each month. all other times, i'm the decider in charge. i keep it simple and have my weekly repertoire of turkey, pizza, chicken, burgers, pasta and steaks. easy fare for the working mom.

but the repertoire we have can be boring. we get tired of the same old stuff. so when we have guests, i reach out to the husband for suggestions to help get out of the rut.

two thanksgivings ago, i asked the husband if he preferred to start the meal with soup or a salad. that's it! the rest of the menu was planned. all he had to do was state a preference for soup or salad, like you do in a restaurant when you order the special. "i don't know. why do i have to decide what everyone else eats?!" he said. (we ended up eating neither.)

last week i asked "honey, you're sister is coming for a visit. what would you like me to cook for dinner when she's here?"

"why do i have to make the decision?" he responded.

"you don't. i'm just asking for ideas. perhaps there is something you'd like for dinner?"

"i don't know. make what you want."

then the daughter became the arbitrator. and she was good at it, too. "guys," she began. "why don't we have spaghetti and meatballs?"

yes, i thought. why don't we? that'll be grand. home made comfort food. easy. my daughter is brilliant.

"sounds good!" i say. "i'll run to the supermarket and pick up the ingredients."

"no, mom. we'll eat out, right dad?"

oh, she's a good one.