America. I feel so blessed to have been born in this country. We have so much, so easy. Our living space is gigantic compared to what other countries have to work with, yet when I watch HGTV's show House Hunters, all I see is people complain about how little their living space is and wonder how they would ever be able to live with such little storage space.
Stuff. We want more storage space for more stuff. We want a bigger fridge to fit more food. A bigger garage to house more cars, and bigger closets to store things we won't see or use but maybe twice a year. Bigger closets for more clothes, and bigger kitchens to store more appliances.
As someone with ADD, I just can't comprehend our obsession with more space for more stuff. ADDers don't do well with more stuff because we get overwhelmed with choices. Even though we're impulsive and buy stuff we don't need, we're horrible with it once we get home.
Take clothing for example. I now know not to over-shop, because what happens is that I go into my closet, stare at my clothes and try on six to seven different things before settling on one of the five items I wear the most. I literally cannot handle too many options because I get frustrated and getting dressed becomes an enormous obstacle and frustration. When I find something I love, I try to buy duplicates if I cannot afford it, but in different colors. Then, I mix, match and accessorize. Much easier.
Now take my problems in the closet and translate that into the kitchen and grocery shopping, and you have one hot mess. Whyyyyy can't we be more European in the kitchen? Why do we have to grocery shop for the entire week? Is that why people want bigger refrigerators? I get so overwhelmed at the grocery store and with planning menus for the week, that it literally paralyzes my brain when I think about it.
You want to know why our country is obese? It's because we eat over-processed foods that can last a long time in our enormous refrigerators, and hormone-infused meats that wreak havoc on our bodies. Add to that, most small towns in the South, where obesity is the worst, don't even have sidewalks. If I want to go on a walk when I'm visiting my in-laws in Georgia, it's a serious challenge, ergo, completely discouraging.
Oh, if we could all have corner markets where we could plan our dinners on a daily basis, with fresh meats, produce and herbs. But even then, when there is a Farmer's market, prices are a little unreal. We're completely discouraged from eating well. I buy hormone free meat, eggs and dairy for the girls, but what average American, especially in this economy, can afford that?
I'm going through Giada de Laurentiis' cookbooks (and I love them all), but it's hard to make some dishes because of the freshness factor. I don't have fresh basil or lemons onhand, and if that's what I need to make the dish I want, I'm not making it, because guess what? That requires me loading up the kids to drive seven floors down the parking garage, to get to the grocery store for one thing, and then I'll only use two basil leaves and have an odd assortment leftover and it'll go bad.
I'm convinced that a European lifestyle would better suit me and my spazness, is all.
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