I used to pride myself on being very organized and efficient—especially when it came to keeping the cupboards filled and the refrigerator stocked. As the self-proclaimed queen of frugal shopping, I thought I really had a handle on managing the groceries, cooking and FOOD as a single mom working multiple jobs. That was before…before the reign of the teenagers…
I really can’t quite wrap my head around how a household of four can consume an entire loaf of bread, half a package of English muffins, a half gallon of juice, an entire gallon of milk and a huge box of cereal in one twelve-hour period. That’s not including a dozen eggs a day, 2 pounds of cheese a week, and I don’t know how many pounds of sliced deli meat.
Somehow, despite daily trips to the market and constant “stocking up,” there’s always only one of things when I go to prepare a meal—one tortilla, one potato, one box of rice, one can of tuna. I could have sworn I bought the “family-pack” only two days ago!
I’m not a novice at this feeding a family challenge–I buy huge bags of cereal, jugs of milk and juice, and dozens of eggs. As a city-dweller living in a modest-sized townhouse, I don’t have the storage for as much stocking up as I’d like—but it seems only months ago that I could get away with at least a weekly trip to the market. Now, I’ll come home with two bags of groceries and find we’ve run out of more things in the short time I was out.
I’ve been promised this phase of nonstop food consumption won’t last forever. I actually find myself fantasizing what it will be like to just be purchasing food for one. After all, I’m not eating all those eggs and milk and juice—I’m perfectly happy with my bowl of soup for supper. I’ve been a mom now for nearly twenty years—focusing on feeding an unpredictable number of people at any given meal. You’d think I’d have a handle on things by now!