“According to the Chicago research firm Food Genius, as many as 80% of Americans don’t make plans for dinner until at least 4 p.m. the same day.”- WSJ, June 7, 2019

WHAAAAT?!?!

And here I thought I was the ONLY loser pulling frozen bricks of chicken out of the freezer at 5:30 p.m. frantically defrosting them in bowls of hot water so we can actually sit down to eat before final Jeopardy.

4 p.m…?  80%…? Really…? Well, I’ll be darned.  I don’t think I’ve been this relieved since the survey came out about how often married couples actually have sex.

(Answer?  Once a week- 😯)

There’s nothing quite as reassuring as a survey, am I right??  But to get to the truth, we have to wriggle behind the carefully curated images of people’s lives (and of course grant complete anonymity to all who participate.)

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Not that there’s anything wrong with sharing pictures of your last amazingly awesome, romantic week-end or that super-moist, marbled pound cake. The posts aren’t the problem, it’s the context that we apply. We create this fantasy that everyone else’s lives are a daily, fresh bed of roses and organic kale.

No wonder levels of depression and anxiety, especially in women, are at historic highs. It’s not just the pressure to measure up, it’s the pressure to prove you’ve got your act together (i.e: thawed out meat in the fridge) all.of.the.time. 

Which leads me to another interesting survey about how many friends people actually have and supposedly “need.” In Europe the average number is 4, in the US it’s slightly higher. Not surprisingly, those in their twenties value the quantity of friends they have, those over thirty value the quality of those relationships.

Authentic, quality friendships are confidence builders; they are the antidote to instagram-induced, poor self-esteem and that nagging, exhausting need to pretend things are fabulous 24/7. I mean it’s comforting to know you’re not the only person saddling up to a last minute plate of baked beans on toast tonight..don’t you think?

Because isn’t that what defines a quality relationship..

the ability to be honest?

Everyone should have at least one close friend with whom they can “compare notes” and keep it “real.”

And not to change the subject, but back to the topic of dinner…

don’t forget to take something out of the freezer!