Happy Valentine’s Day to you
Lynton retired in November 2016. He said, “You’ve done the cooking for twenty years. From now on, I’ll take over all the cooking for you.”
Yes, I had cooked for us for twenty years. When I was teaching, school was out at 3:00 p.m. As soon as my preparation for the following day or week was done, I was on my way home. I either picked up to-go food or made something simple. When I got the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. administrator’s job, I didn’t have dinner ready until 7:00 p.m.
When he volunteered for cooking, I took his word with a grain of salt and didn’t expect him to carry through consistently. Three plus years have gone by and he kept his word literally.
We eat twice a day, a brunch and a dinner. He prepares the same things for brunch which includes eggs, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, apples, pears, fresh orange juice from our tree and sometimes a bread item. I love eating the simple and healthy food every day, especially he does the cooking.
For dinner, he alternates the salmon, chicken and hamburger plus peas and mixed vegetable of broccoli, carrots and celery. No bread items. Occasionally he makes a thin crust pizza and perfected his home-made recipe for the crust. Several times a year, he barbecues the top sirloin steaks.
We dine out once a week. He tried to make a reservation at our favorite steak house for Valentine’s Day but there are only super early or super late hours are available. He made a reservation for Saturday which is tomorrow. Our Valentine’s Day dinner will still be his home-made cooking. Hooray!
On top of the cooking, he does dishes which is something he has been doing all the time. Doing dishes is the guy’s job in his family. I love that.
Does your husband cook or do dishes occasionally?
Oh, husbands: do you cook or do dishes for love or fun sometimes?
What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?
Wishing you and your family a Happy Valentine’s Day?
Being willing to cook for someone else when it is not your forte, that is a gift of love! My husband (who does not even make tea) cooked for me a few years back when he was out of a job and I was at a very stressful job with long hours. He did very well at following directions on frozen dinners and had supper on the table when I walked in the door. It was a welcomed gift to me during a difficult period that I will never forget. 😊
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Yes, Irene, most men have never developed the interest of cooking. Most of the guys in my group of close friends don’t cook, so when we get together, they were amazed of how my husband keeps up the interest and learn from watching YouTube.
It was good that your husband was sensitive to you and cooked for you during a time of need. I think it’s the idea that counts. I’m glad it became a memorable treasure for you. 🙂
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Lynton’s meals sound terrific, Miriam. Some men like to cook, my husband is one of them. He used to cook for us but now my mother does. I don’t cook daily meals and I never have.
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I know, Robbie. You’re one of the blessed ones to have a husband likes to cook. Cooking takes time. Preparation takes more time than cooking. With him cooking, you have more time to do things you like to do.
I’m more relaxed knowing I don’t need to plan for meals and do the cooking. 🤗
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I am lucky about the cooking, Miriam. I also never cooked and made it clear I wouldn’t do it from the beginning of our relationship.
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I remember you writing about that, Robbie. Many girls don’t think of it until after they get married and work full-time as their husbands do, but they are assumed the responsibility of cooking and all the other chores. By that time, they either complain or find a way to negotiate!
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It is a hangover from the past when women were second class citizens. Nowadays, most women work and many men expect their women to work and help provide for the family. As a result, they have relinquished their roles as providers so they must step up and help with running the home. That is equality.
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Exactly, Robbie. I agree with you. My daughter’s taking time off to be a full-time mom for a while. But she is getting her HR license during her pregnancy right now. Even when she was working, they share cooking, or eating out. Somehow they and their friends eat out a lot. I heard that it’s the thing of their generation.
We didn’t eat out too much during the week because I had to go to bed early for the commute.
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We don’t eat out during the week either, Miriam. I get up at 5am and like to be in bed by 10pm. How nice that Mercy can take some time off. I was never able to.
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I’m happy for her, Robbie. Will is very supportive of her!
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You’re one lucky gal!
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Yes, I’m thankful, Norah!
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Aww lovely
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Thank you!
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You are very lucky, Miriam:) Yes my husband has cooked when needed and likes to do weekend breakfast. He is our dishwasher if I cook.
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Thank you, Denise. It’s good that your husband cooks weekend breakfast and other times as needed and doing the dishes. Some of our friends’ husband’s never cooks. I’m lucky, I know. I do my part to give and take for keeping the relationship fresh. Have a wonderful weekend. 🤗
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Wow Miriam you are a lucky lady with your husband helping you so much. Such lovely pictures of a good meal. My husband will put clothes for washing machine and then bring and dry them and some odd jobs he does. Happy Valentine’s Day dear.
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What a lucky lady you are to have a treasure like Lynton for a husband. I always did all the cooking when my husband was with me, even when I was working full-time as a teacher. I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day.
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Hi Kim, I know. Most men think cooking is the wife’s job. Our friends who are married for 40+ years and the husbands said they’ve never cooked. Lynton and several husbands commented on this post are unusual. They have to do it as a choice.
I hope you’re doing well, Kim. So good to hear from you.
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Have a lovely Valentine’s Day Miriam. Sounds like you have a keeper 😀😀
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Thank you, Brian. It makes my life easier. 😀🤗
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I think it is safe to say you are just a tiny bit spoiled, Miriam! Enjoy it to the fullest! Happy Valentine’s Day!
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I agree with you, Jan, that I’m spoiled. Yes, I’ll enjoy it before he changes his mind. ❤
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All the men in our family cook some of the time and my younger son and nephew do all the cooking! Cyberspouse and I have always taken it in turns. Those meals look lovely, but I couldn’t manage that big steak!
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The ladies in your family are happy and blessed ones. My son-in-law looked to cook. He cooks breakfast all the time. My daughter is pregnant and stays home so she cooks dinners. When she was working, they either took them to cook or cooked together. I’m glad your son and nephew do all of cooking. The younger generation doesn’t have a steriotype when it comes to roles. I’m glad you take turns to cook.
That is a bone-in steak. Even with that, I could eat two bites! 😀
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My partner is s chef by trade so I feel really bless to have him cook majority of the meals.
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Oh, yes, you’re blessed for sure to have an in-house and professional chef. Wow, have super delicious meals all the time. You’re a happy lady!!
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Your brunch looks so good! Ok so does the pizza and the steak haha 🙂 I do the cooking, hubby does the dishes. The rule is actually whoever cooks the others have to do the dishes. He cooks if we are grilling but here at the new place they don’t allow grills 🙂 I hope your valentines has been full of blessings and your “valentines” dinner tomorrow is too 🙂
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It’s good that when one cooks, the other one does dishes. Guys are good with grilling. I’m glad you are used to the new place and enjoy it. Does it have a common area for residents to do the grilling even though they can’t do at their own places?
I wish you a enjoyable and blessed Valentine’s day also, Margaret!💖🤗
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It has common areas but no grilles but it’s ok. 🙂
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We don’t do grilling too often either. 😊
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Our arrangement is whoever does the cooking is spared from doing the clean-up. My wife and I both know she is a far better cook than me, so needless to say, I do a lot of dishes.😎
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I agree with you, Pete. It’s good she knows she’s a better cook and enjoys doing it. I’m glad you do dishes because it doesn’t take long for the dishes to pile up. When I cooked, I tried to have more varieties. But then it would have different ingredients for each meal and planning ahead. He doesn’t want to put too much thinking in it. When I went through the chemo treatment, he went back to school for his Ct/MRI licenses. He cooked for us during that year. He made big batch of sharpards pie, freezed in meal portions for the week. We ate the same thing for months. That was okay because I had no energy to do anything. I do the laundry and other chores.
It’s the team work that continue. 😍🤗😀
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Teamwork and supporting each other in a marriage is where it’s at. I’m sure when you went through chemo treatments, it was hard on both of you.
I wouldn’t say my wife likes to cook, but she knows she’s taking a risk 😎 when I do the cooking. I’m not quite as bad as I make it out to be, but Top Chef isn’t going to be calling anytime soon.🤣
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My Kevin will cook or do the dishes. I’d rather have *that* than a romantic dinner eating out! 🙂
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I like Lynton’s cooking because it’s healthier. We pay the restaurants, but I don’t like everything they serve
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I LOVE IT! ❤ Dan does most of the cooking now that we're retired. Occasionally, he'll ask me to bake for prepare one of his favorites of mine. For Valentine's Day, Dan prepared baked potato and sirloin stead, while I fixed a salad. He does dishes too! Feeling blessed and grateful. Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo
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That’s wonderful, Bette! I think most of young wives do the cooking by default. I don’t know why. It’s good by the time we retired, husbands like to cook. Perhaps for the same reason as Lynton’s – do it for love.
Your Valentine’s Day dinner sounds delicious. You didn’t mention desert. We don’t eat desert for health reasons. 💖🤗 Enjoy your Valentine dinner. 💝
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We shared a small Godiva Dark Chocolate Bar mid afternoon. We don’t eat desserts regularly–also for health reasons. Also, we have our main meal (dinner) at noon and very light supper. Usually fruit for breakfast. ❤
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It’s a good idea to have dinner at noon time and breakfast in the evening, Bette. We talked about that. Especially for me, it takes a long time to digest and burn the energy. The fast would stay in the body.
I’m sensitive to processed sugar (I can have light desert at breakfast time but not later than noon), it keeps me awake. 💝
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I do all the cooking, the shopping, and wash the dishes (we have never owned a dishwasher
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Oh, Peter, good to hear that. I’ll tell Lynton about you. 🤗 We have a dishwasher but he likes to hand wash the dishes after each meal. 😀
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Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤
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Thank you, Barbara. Happy Valentine’s Day to you! 💝🤗
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I actually do most of the cooking. It works best for us that way.
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I think so, Mick. But I’m curious if the reasons though. Would you elaborate?
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I’m at home more than my wife, for one. I also quite enjoy cooking. And we try to share the ‘household duties’ between us, too.
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I love to hear that you enjoy cooking. My son-in-law also enjoys cooking. I’m happy for my daughter. When we go out to eat with friends, cooking came up as the conversation, not too many men like to do cooking.
My husband ran a business at home for years but he didn’t pick up coming until he retired. He watches YouTube to learn different recipes.
We share chores also.
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What a lovely husband you have Miriam, I am very lucky too. My husband cooks often, when I broke my back the second time he did everything, shopping, cooking, cleaning washing. Now I am on the mend we share cooking , but he loves the shopping so he does all the shopping, the other jobs we share.Happy Valentine’s Day to you too 💜💜💜
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It seems like you and I are blessed with loving and caring husband’s. 💝💖💓 Yes, we should be for each other. I’m glad your husband did all the cooking and chores when you broke your back.
If we’re healthy, I don’t think we would sit around and being served. I like sharing chores also.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Willow!💖😍
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Thank you Miriam 💜
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You’re welcome, Willow.😍💖
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💜
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💐💝
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My husband knows how to cook but does so rarely. When we go out for dinner it’s a real treat for me but he always ends up saying “I prefer your cooking over any restaurant.”
Not sure what we’re doing for Valentine’s dinner. I know one thing though, I’m not cooking 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy your dinner out tomorrow.
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Don’t cook and let him figure out what to do. 😍
I prefer my husband’s cooking also because I can eat everything he cooks. At the restaurants, it would be nice if I could eat more than half comes with the meal and cooks the way I like it. Perhaps your husband likes the way you cook.😀
You may have to wait until he retires before he cooks. 😊 Not too many younger husbands like to cook. 🙂
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Turns out we’re going for Chinese Buffet 🙂
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Oh how lovely! Enjoy your dinner! 😍 We’re far away from Chinese restaurants. We go to “China Town” once a month for business and Chinese food for lunch.😊
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