Dinner for two

Like most young adults, I didn't start cooking until I moved out of my parent's house.  I would on occasion bake at home, but cooking meals was something I never actively participated in.  Now I cook a lot, probably at least 4 days a week on average.  For the most part I find it enjoyable, my least favorite part being the dirty dishes that accumulate by the end of the process.

I am also a pretty nonjudgmental eater, meaning that I love all kinds of food and am willing to try all kinds of food and different recipes.  And while my husband is not too picky, there are times when my "different" dinner ideas get shot down for something more conventional. 

This is the dilemma one usually faces when having to cook for two.  But who really has the most control over the situation?  The cook or the complainer?

Usually I only get my way on certain meals if I stomp my feet and throw a mini tantrum.  It's shameless, I know.  But when dinner ideas clash someone has to come out on top, and there are some nights when I will do everything possible to make sure it's me. 

If I lived by myself I would eat pasta like it's going out of style.  All different kinds, with all different sauces, and all types of meat/veggie combinations.  Dean tires of pasta rather quickly, so I have to be strategic when working it into the weekly menu.  On the other side of things, if he had his way we would eat Mexican food seven days a week.  I suppose everyone has their niche. 

My overall observation here is that it's kind of interesting what aspects of your life change or are altered when you are in a committed relationship.  Especially if you happen to live with the person.  I wouldn't go so far as to say I have given up certain foods because my husband doesn't like them, but I definitely don't indulge in them as often.  Would this be different if i were single?  You betcha.  

It also leads me to wonder how much this principle applies to other areas of our lives.  For instance, aside from dinner choices, what else do we adapt to, alter, change, even give up when we are in a relationship?  Sure, we all say that you should never have to give up or change anything about yourself in order to be with someone else, and while this notion is most definitely grounded in truth, it still happens.  Not always in big, outlandish ways, but definitely on a more subtle scale. 

Part of this is compromise.  Part of this is learning how to make a life with someone in the midst of work, school, hobbies, friends, and family.  And all obstacles are never completely solved, even after marriage.  Situations come up on a daily basis and sometimes we know we have to make the decision that will work for the betterment of two people, and not just ourselves. 

Kind of incredible how a post about cooking dinner can veer off into a deeper tangent, isn't it?  

And by the way, spaghetti is on the menu for dinner tonight.  Isn't compromise a wonderful thing?