When John and I were first married we lived in Florida. We were sticklers for all cotton fabric, and wool soakers on cloth diapers. We made our butter by skimming the cream from local, fresh milk and, while not a churn per se, blended it in the processor. I cooked our granola, and yogurt, and calzones from scratch. Our orange juice came from trees in the backyard.
The pans I loved best were cast iron, which no doubt contributed to my strong levels of hemoglobin for those first four pregnancies. Cast iron needs to be seasoned, and when treated with care does an amazing job of heating evenly. Food washes off easily for reasons I cannot explain. As a newbie homemaker I was content to spend the time to create healthy meals. We had no dishwasher, and there weren't microwaves so food prep was a big chunk of each day.
Somewhere between Florida and California I started to use more modern pans with no stick surfaces, and left cast iron behind. Yet in spite of being specially treated, scrubbing pots became a chore.
John's mother always used cast iron, and had them in every size including an enormous one for when company came. When she died I inherited her small one, and started using it. I had forgotten why I love them.
It heats evenly, and food does not stick. Probably my hemoglobin will improve as well.
In the very beginning of our marriage, there were problems that just didn't stick. After living eight hundred miles apart during our engagement I was too grateful to be together to leave gaps for bickering. Our tempers were even, and I don't think we argued for at least a year.
Then the exhaustion of three, then four, then five, then six, then seven kids wore me out and anger took a place at the table. Permanently. There was joy too, and playfulness. Homeschooling meant lots of trips to the beach and park, but I found reasons to growl.
Yet after forty years, and nine children, I can safely say that we are becoming seasoned. I have loosened my grip on trying to change John, and learned to love the nourishment that is ours each day.
There are simply issues that don't stick anymore.
