Musing About a Night out to Dinner

The other night we went out with some friends to dinner. After ordering our catfish and hamburger I was amazed at the price of the meal. I was stunned frankly to be spending $30+ on something that I could not only re-create far better at home, but far less expensive. I had two beers for the price of an entire 6 pack!!!
I know this sounds cheap and silly; after all we did get to go out with friends. And there was no cooking or cleaning. Yet for all the fun we had, I was kicking myself for not spending the $30 more wisely and inviting our friends over to our house for dinner. There is nothing more satisfying then entertaining for your friends at home with a deli shish meal of whatever you happen to feel like cooking. (Of course not everyone believes that Hannah!) I love to cook; I do not find it to be a chore in any sense of the word. I lose myself in my kitchen after a long day of chasing after children and cleaning up tiny toys. It is my time to be alone with my thoughts and my creative juices. They tend to be stifled when changing a foul diaper. In my kitchen my "self" comes alive. To cook for my darling husband is wonderful, but to cook for friends, to share my table, that is my greatest joy.
That same night, after chiding myself for not just living in the moment, enjoying the fact that I was work free, my darling said the most amazing thing. We were asked where we like to go out to dinner. To anyone else it would have been an easy answer. Even for people that rarely go out to dinner, they could have picked their favorite places to eat. But we looked at each other in puzzled silence. "Well", I started, "we like Thai..." I wracked my brain for our favorite places to frequent dinner. Mark, perfect match to me, piped in, "I never feel the need to go out to dinner, my wife is a gourmet chef." He is said it so matter-of-fact, there was no question in anyone’s mind that I was a gourmet chef, least of all mine.
Yea! for my Darling.
I love to go out to eat, but I love to go in to eat even more.
Cheers to all my darlings!