Solo Dining at Home

[Texasmujer]

For anyone facing solo dinners at home...

*Never eat out of a plastic storage container or a pot---never! (you deserve better than that!) * Set a place for yourself at the table. Use a nice place mat, even if it seems too nice for just you. Fold a paper or cloth napkin, tuck it beside your plate and set your silver on it, justlike in s restaurant. *Light a candle. Its flame will keep you company. *Think early in the day about dinner, Try to plan something decent, even if it means a trip out to fetch it. If you can cook or bake something that smels good, you'll instantly feel better. *The aromas of cinnamon, onions and garlic are guaranteed to fill the kitchen with good memories. * If your food on the plate looks bland, add something bright--- a sliced tomato or some diced peppers or a chunk of orange. Restaurants do it to make the food look happier, and so should you. *Pour yourself a glass of someting you like to drink; do not drink from a bottle. *Sit quietly for a moment. If you can, say a little thank you for your blessings today. *Eat slowly. Taste what you're eating. *Keep a book at the
table that you can read on the side. A newspaper's pages are awkward to turn as you eat, but its tales will remind you that you're not the only one who's sad or alone, or who can survive a challenge. TV is a poor dinner companion because it's noissy and hynotic and soon your food is gone and you've barely noticed swallowing. *Clean up after yourself. Nothing makes a morning more dreary than the sign of dirty plates. or a sticky, crumby table from the night before. *Jot nots on a scrap of paper of what you
are runing out of and will need to replenish at the store. This will give you purpose tomorrrow. Think about whether a friend or neighbor might like something, too. This might give your achy heart the oxygen to keep on beating. Eating alonemight seem like apointless chore. But by it we fuel ourselves, in spirit and body, for the darkness of night and the day that will follow.