WHAT'S FOR DINNER

And memories on the refrigerator door.

The front of the refrigerator door was three layers deep with pencil drawings, half-colored figures ripped from coloring books, and school papers with big red “A”s proudly circled at the top of the page that were barely staying in place with all the assorted magnets. It may have looked like a mess to some, but I loved it!

Back then, the pages were held in place with alphabet magnets. Plastic capital letters in all the colors of the rainbow with little magnets hidden on the back side. When I purchased the alphabet magnets, I envisioned teaching my kids their letters and how to read while cooking dinner. We never did play Scrabble on the fridge … the door never stayed shut long enough … we were all huddled in our kitchen, hungry, and tired.

The front of the fridge is no longer covered with crayon masterpieces and school papers. I’ll admit that I left the pages up for years, partly because there never seemed to be time to properly organize them, and partly because it was comforting to be greeted with them each time I opened the door. Every page brought back a memory.

The alphabet letters have long been replaced with a growing magnet collection that holds new memories. My husband would say I collect gondola magnets. It’s true—two of my first magnets were gondolas. The first was a reminder of our trip to Georgia when we hiked Stone Mountain, urging our niece to keep going when she was sure she couldn’t make it, and her big smile when we reached the top. The next gondola, from Palm Springs, brings back the memory of our trip to swanky California and hiking with my dad. Non-gondola magnets have also made their way onto the fridge. There’s the famous fresco by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel with Adam’s outstretched arm, which reminds me of my first, and hopefully not only, trip to Italy with my Belle Sorelle. (which means beautiful sisters in Italian – we are having T-shirts made). There’s also a magnet from Niagara Falls, a place I’ve never been, that was a gift from a friend. I must have told her I collected travel magnets. The picture on the front is beautiful and makes me think I should visit.

A friend once told me to be careful what you collect, or what you tell people you collect, because once friends and family find out, you are likely to get that and only that for years! She collected teddy bears, and now has two rooms in her house filled with them. I’m not exaggerating … completely filled with them! One of the bears is over six feet tall! I think I’m safe with magnets but it’s good advice nonetheless.

There is one common thread to my refrigerator magnet story. I’ve always used a magnet to hold my list of planned weekly dinners to the door. When the kids were little, the weekly menu was routine, but it always included a main, a starch, and a vegetable. Like pork chops, red potatoes, and green beans. Or tacos, Spanish rice, and grilled corn. Slowly over the years, the menu became a list of main courses only—steak, shrimp, chicken—more of a reminder of what was inside the fridge than an actual meal plan.

Lately, the list isn’t updated every week, and often it doesn’t reflect what is inside the fridge at all. There was a time when it was really important for me to have the weekly meals planned and organized. I suppose it saved time or quieted my racing mind when days were filled with the drama of raising children.

Recently, however, I’ve realized I don’t need the list anymore and I don’t have to have the answers for every question … not even what’s for dinner.