Maybe there is one positive... I think

Maybe I can salvage one thing through this chapter in my life, I finally learned to cook. Previously the phrase if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen had applied to me in every way. I find it a bit ironic that I looked up to someone who so enjoyed fine foods and a good bottle of wine, yet I've been so plain in my taste in food. I didn't even try wine until earlier this year, due to my parents encouragement of me to expand my horizons.

While my dad was in the hospital in April, I would visit him for a couple hours a day after I was done practicing golf and then my mom would visit my dad after she would come home from work. I started cooking actual meals, not just popping stuff in the microwave or Ramen noodles, for my mom before she came home so she could have a good dinner before she left for the hospital to spend the rest of her evenings with my dad. In the beginning the meats looked more like they were boiled rather than grilled as well as the rice and pasta being undercooked, both products of me being scared of burning the food... the vegetables were good. Through trial and error I learned my own style of cooking, browning the meats just enough while keeping them tender, the rice and pasta became not just eatable but really good. The veggies managed to get better too. Along with learning how to cook my mom and I came up with out own little cool salad. I have to give an honorable mention to my aunt Carmen for starting my down the road of healthy eating, thank you Aunt Carmen!

When my dad finally arrived home after being in the hospital for three weeks I continued to cook for the family, it gave me a sense of pride that my dad liked my cooking. We would argue about eating the salad and vegetables but he loved the stuff that came from the stove and that was good enough for me. He could not have a glass wine with me any more (because it upset his stomach) but we could enjoy a cold bottle of Blue Moon together watching the afternoon baseball games. Cooking was something I felt I should do to contribute to our family through those hard months and I learned a new passion that I can take from this chapter in my life.