The Indecisive Diners

I love my husband, Ben, more than I can possibly say.  He is my best friend, my rock, my soul mate.  He makes me laugh and smile every day.  I can't imagine ever finding a more wonderful person.  In almost every way, our personalities compliment each other perfectly.  Except for one huge issue...dinner!

I HATE dinner time in our house!  Yes, I'm using the "H word".  It isn't often my day that stresses me out (well, sometimes it is).  More and more frequently, the anticipation of having to figure out what to do for dinner that night is what gets my blood pressure up!  It is quite possible that Ben and I are the two most indecisive people on the planet when it comes to planning meals.  Neither one of us can make a decision about what to have for dinner! 

I place partial blame on myself.  I don't like to cook.  Yes, I'll do it when I need to, but in general, I don't enjoy it.  I'm certainly not one of those people who looks forward to preparing a meal.  Instead, I worry about having all the ingredients, timing each item so that they're ready when they should be, and cleaning up the mess when we're finished.  My idea of a good time is sitting in a restaurant and having my food brought to me, or even better, opening those glorious take out boxes and letting the aroma of the already prepared food fill the kitchen.  I'm apparently missing the "female cooking gene" (thanks, Mom!).  I have a few relatively simple recipes in my arsenal that I'll make when the mood strikes, but seriously, there are only so many times a month you can stand to eat the same meals over and over! 

I'm not sure that Ben's issues run as deep as mine - honestly, if either of us got the "female cooking gene", it was him!  He would probably be happy to cook 5 nights a week if I asked him to.  That's just the problem, it's not a matter of who will cook, it's WHAT to cook!  Ben is so easy going, he'll generally eat whatever I'm having a hankering for.  But since I often can't decide what I want, we find ourselves in a bit of a pickle. 

So, until one of us steps up with a resolute "This is what I want for dinner", our afternoons and evenings are spent with an unending dialog of "I don't know, what are YOU hungry for?", "I could eat anything, so you choose", and "It's not just up to me, you have to eat it too!"

Last night, there was just such an exchange at our house.  Ben had set out 2 chicken breasts to thaw before leaving for work, so we were going to grill them, and fix some couscous as a side.  For whatever reason, chicken and couscous just didn't sound good.  I couldn't get a taste for it, no matter how I tried.  So, I made the big mistake...I spoke up.  It seemed innocent enough at the time, but inevitably we were thrown into our typical exchange of frustrated sighs, semi-enthusiastic suggestions, and impatient tones.  After much deliberation, it was decided that Ben would simply go pick up Subway. 

Later, as we sat happily munching on our sandwiches, I began to wonder if this is how we're destined to spend the rest of our marriage - perpetually indecisive about one of the most basic human instincts.  Some couples argue about what to watch on tv, others fight about money, but not us.  The big headache of our marriage will be "What's for dinner?"