This is my evening routine now. I prepare something that passes for dinner – tonight it was orange chicken from a bag (really, this stuff is not so bad), more often it’s either a salad or something that Ed brought home from classes within the past few days. There was some great black bean soup a few days ago. I add shredded cheese and light sour cream and tell myself that I’ve cooked.
Once all this "preparation" is completed I fill the plate or bowl, add a glass of wine and sit down with the dog as my company. Dakota (she’s the dog) watches my every bite knowing that there is no competition for whatever might be left when I am no longer hungry. (or whatever I don’t like – tonight she had a whole bunch or cooked carrots)
And I don’t really mind this – I know that Ed is having a great time and I am, by nature, a solitary person. But for 18 months? "One day at a time" applies to so many circumstances of our lives…maybe this is another. Perhaps this will not be my routine for all of the 18 months. Maybe I’ll develop a desire to cook or go on some crazy diet and eat only celery and yogurt for weeks at a time.
And in the meantime, I’m taking it day by day, meal by meal. After all, even on Mondays Saturday is only 5 dinners away.