I was too sick to stand at the stove, so I ordered dinner. My MIL threw every untouched container in the trash and told me a good wife cooks for her family herself. My husband didn\u2019t argue when he got home. He made one call. The moment his mother saw who walked through the front door, she froze.<\/p>\n
By five that evening, even sitting upright felt like fighting gravity.<\/p>\n
I had spent most of the day under two blankets despite sweating through my T-shirt, drinking lukewarm water because anything colder hurt to swallow.<\/p>\n
My MIL threw every untouched container in the trash.<\/p>\n
Nathan had wanted to stay home that morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoli, I\u2019m serious. I can call in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have that quarterly meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also have a wife with a fever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have medicine, water, and a TV remote. Go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan leaned down and kissed my forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also have a wife with a fever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI plan to,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd order dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can make something easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d He pointed at me. \u201cDon\u2019t even look at the stove.\u201d<\/p>\n
I managed a weak laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m serious, Yoli.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I. Go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t even look at the stove.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before leaving, he filled my water bottle, set my medicine on the nightstand, and texted the kids to come straight home after school.<\/p>\n
At 4:30, the kids came home hungry enough to behave as though school had starved them for humanitarian research.<\/p>\n
At 4:30, the kids came home hungry.<\/p>\n
I ordered pasta for them, steak and potatoes for Nathan, and chicken soup for myself.<\/p>\n
I texted Nathan.<\/p>\n
Your dinner costs more than my medicine.<\/p>\n
His reply came immediately.<\/p>\n
Worth it. Stay upstairs, Yoli. \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, I heard the front door open and a familiar voice call out.<\/p>\n
Angela.<\/p>\n
I ordered pasta for them, steak and potatoes for Nathan, and chicken soup for myself.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s mother never knocked if she knew we were home.<\/p>\n
She hadn\u2019t said she was coming over, and I had no idea what she was doing there.<\/p>\n
A moment later, she appeared in our bedroom doorway carrying her purse.<\/p>\n
She looked at me slowly.<\/p>\n
I had no idea what she was doing there.<\/p>\n
Then she checked the clock on my nightstand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s five o\u2019clock, Yolanda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re STILL in bed?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a fever, Angela.\u201d<\/p>\n
She touched two fingers lightly on my forehead.<\/p>\n
I almost appreciated the gesture.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re STILL in bed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cYou always DID get dramatic when you\u2019re sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela had a talent for making an insult sound almost conversational.<\/p>\n
During my marriage to Nathan, she\u2019d asked whether I really needed a cleaning service after our second child was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always DID get dramatic when you\u2019re sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019d once picked up one of Nathan\u2019s shirts and said, \u201cYou know, ironing takes five minutes if you care how your husband looks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another time she\u2019d tasted my lasagna, smiled, and said, \u201cWell, at least the children seem to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan usually rolled his eyes afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, ironing takes five minutes if you care how your husband looks.\u201d<\/p>\n
And because I didn\u2019t want every family dinner becoming an argument, I usually let it go.<\/p>\n
That turned out to be a mistake.<\/p>\n
The doorbell rang downstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s dinner,\u201d I said. \u201cCould you please bring it in?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela frowned. \u201cDinner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI ordered food.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ORDERED it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s dinner\u2026 Could you please bring it in?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten minutes passed.<\/p>\n
Then 15.<\/p>\n
The kids weren\u2019t arguing over pasta.<\/p>\n
Nobody had brought me my soup.<\/p>\n
Finally, I pushed myself out of bed.<\/p>\n
My legs were completely shot by the time I made it downstairs.<\/p>\n
I followed the kitchen light.<\/p>\n
Angela stood beside the trash can.<\/p>\n
My legs were completely shot by the time I made it downstairs.<\/p>\n
The restaurant containers were inside the garbage.<\/p>\n
The pasta.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s steak.<\/p>\n
The side dishes.<\/p>\n
Even my unopened soup.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngela?\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned calmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you even doing?\u201d I sputtered.<\/p>\n
She wiped her hands with a paper towel.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaving my son from eating that garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant containers were inside the garbage.<\/p>\n
For a second, I thought the fever had made me misunderstand her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threw it away?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela glanced toward the stove.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone around here needs to remember what a kitchen is for.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was $90 of food.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone around here needs to remember what a kitchen is for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd whose money paid for it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur money,\u201d I blurted out.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning my son\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe she had actually said it.<\/p>\n
I lowered my voice because the kids were in the living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngela, I am sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Nathan told me to order dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngela, I am sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course he did. He babies you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Nathan was little, he could be sick for days and I still put food on the table every night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t mean to say that out loud.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Nathan was little, he could be sick for days and I still put food on the table every night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s eyebrows rose.<\/p>\n
Then she folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cA good wife cooks dinner herself!\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the trash again.<\/p>\n
My soup had never even been opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threw away my food too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need soup? There\u2019s a saucepan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA good wife cooks dinner herself!\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe a person could stand beside a trash can full of perfectly good food and tell someone with a 102-degree fever to start cooking.<\/p>\n
Angela pointed toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet up and make dinner yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She offered a casual shrug. \u201cThen what\u2019s stopping you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGet up and make dinner yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the moment something in me finally gave out.<\/p>\n
I just sat down at the kitchen table because standing there arguing with her suddenly felt ridiculous.<\/p>\n
One of the kids appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, can I have crackers?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cYeah, honey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela sighed. \u201cCrackers for dinner. Wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, can I have crackers?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease stop talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
She seemed genuinely offended.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYolanda\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went quiet.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, the front door opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoli?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan stepped into the kitchen carrying his laptop bag.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our youngest sat at the counter eating crackers.<\/p>\n
The older one was spreading peanut butter on another stack.<\/p>\n
I was at the table crying because I felt awful.<\/p>\n
I was hungry.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019d reached the end of what I could politely absorb from Angela.<\/p>\n
Nathan looked around.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s\u2026 dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019d reached the end of what I could politely absorb from Angela.<\/p>\n
Angela answered before I could.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the trash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWHAT?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI threw it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan slowly set his laptop bag on the floor.<\/p>\n
He peeked into the trash can.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
His untouched steak dinner sitting crooked on top of my soup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI threw it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then at the kids.<\/p>\n
Then at Angela.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, did you do this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela lifted her chin.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone had to remind your wife what marriage means.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan stared at her.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He was angry.<\/p>\n
Not annoyed.<\/p>\n
Not irritated.<\/p>\n
Angry enough that he usually needed a minute before speaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone had to remind your wife what marriage means.\u201d<\/p>\n
I expected him to tell her to leave.<\/p>\n
His brow furrowed deep.<\/p>\n
He became strangely calm.<\/p>\n
Then, to my complete confusion, he smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what, Mom? You\u2019re absolutely right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s posture relaxed immediately.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what, Mom? You\u2019re absolutely right.\u201d<\/p>\n
He raised one hand slightly toward me without taking his eyes off his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor looking out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced at me with the smallest trace of satisfaction.<\/p>\n
Nathan continued, \u201cIf takeout is unacceptable, then I think you deserve a reminder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela looked delighted.<\/p>\n
\u201cA gift?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way.\u201d Nathan pulled out his phone. \u201cI just need to make one call.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela sat down across from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything for my boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched Nathan leave the kitchen and walk into the hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just need to make one call.\u201d<\/p>\n
He spoke too quietly for me to hear the first part.<\/p>\n
Then his voice carried through the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cAunt Irene?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela stopped smiling.<\/p>\n
It happened so fast I almost missed it.<\/p>\n
Her fingers went still against the tabletop.<\/p>\n
It happened so fast I almost missed it.<\/p>\n
Nathan continued speaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s me. Do you still have that old Tuesday dish you always joke you should\u2019ve thrown out 20 years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan?\u201d<\/p>\n
He ignored her.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cPerfect. Is there any chance you could bring it over with some of the old Tuesday dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201d Is there any chance you could bring it over?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela hurried toward the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan, hang up.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped away from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty minutes? Great.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan!\u201d<\/p>\n
He ended the call.<\/p>\n
Angela stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan slid his phone into his pocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting someone a second opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want it,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He finally looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one\u2019s not really for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s face had lost the confidence she\u2019d had five minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you calling Irene?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one\u2019s not really for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan picked up a clean glass, filled it with water, and placed it in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan, don\u2019t play games with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you think you\u2019re doing, stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the pantry and began making sandwiches for the kids.<\/p>\n
Angela followed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you think you\u2019re doing, stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan spread peanut butter across a slice of bread.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did Yoli when she told you she had a fever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen help me understand something.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the trash can.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow exactly did throwing away her soup help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela said nothing.<\/p>\n
Nathan went back to the sandwiches.<\/p>\n
That silence was new.<\/p>\n
I had never seen Angela run out of answers.<\/p>\n
For the next 15 minutes, she barely sat still.<\/p>\n
She checked the front door twice.<\/p>\n
Asked Nathan what Irene had said.<\/p>\n
I had never seen Angela run out of answers.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he had told her why she was coming.<\/p>\n
Nathan refused to answer.<\/p>\n
Finally, the doorbell rang.<\/p>\n
Angela stood so quickly her chair scraped backward.<\/p>\n
Nathan looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there, Yoli.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked toward the front door.<\/p>\n
I heard it open.<\/p>\n
Then a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan!\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard it open. Then a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
His tone switched gears.<\/p>\n
\u201cAunt Irene! Look at you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. Ancient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMove,\u201d she said. \u201cThis thing is heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard Nathan laugh.<\/p>\n
Then footsteps approached the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Slow.<\/p>\n
Careful.<\/p>\n
Someone carrying something substantial.<\/p>\n
Angela was standing rigid beside the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMove. This thing is heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan appeared first.<\/p>\n
Behind him came a woman I\u2019d never met.<\/p>\n
She looked somewhere in her 70s, with silver hair pulled loosely behind her head.<\/p>\n
In both hands she carried an old rectangular casserole dish.<\/p>\n
The outside was scratched.<\/p>\n
One handle had been repaired with dark tape.<\/p>\n
Behind him came a woman I\u2019d never met.<\/p>\n
And across the lid was a strip of yellowed masking tape with writing I couldn\u2019t read from where I sat.<\/p>\n
The woman saw Angela.<\/p>\n
Her face softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, hello.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Her eyes went directly to the casserole dish.<\/p>\n
Then to Nathan.<\/p>\n
Then back to the woman.<\/p>\n
Her eyes went directly to the casserole dish.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
Irene stepped farther into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s face turned crimson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is SHE doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan set a potholder on the table.<\/p>\n
Still calm, he looked at his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said a good wife cooks dinner herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is SHE doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he took the old casserole dish from Irene and placed it between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Yoli should meet the woman who cooked for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela shot to her feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could you do this to your own mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan reached for the yellowed strip of tape underneath the dish.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could you do this to your own mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
In faded black marker, two words were still perfectly readable.<\/p>\n
ANGELA \u2013 TUESDAY<\/p>\n
And whatever story Angela had spent years telling about the mother she\u2019d been, I suddenly knew that dish was about to tell a different one.<\/p>\n
In faded black marker, two words were still perfectly readable.<\/p>\n
Irene rested both hands on the casserole dish.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor almost a year,\u201d she said, \u201cyour mother came to my back door at least twice a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s face burned brighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a lot going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irene nodded. \u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan looked at the label again.<\/p>\n
\u201cTuesday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a lot going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChicken and rice,\u201d Irene said. \u201cThursday was usually soup.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Angela.<\/p>\n
She had spent years describing Nathan\u2019s childhood as though she had personally carried every single burden without help.<\/p>\n
She had spent years describing Nathan\u2019s childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne night, Nathan had pneumonia,\u201d Irene continued. \u201cAngela hadn\u2019t slept properly in two days. She came over crying and said, \u2018I can\u2019t keep up.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela looked away.<\/p>\n
Irene added, \u201cI gave her dinner and told her, \u2018Feed your boy. Nobody said you had to stir every pot yourself.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came over crying and said, \u2018I can\u2019t keep up.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan opened the dish.<\/p>\n
The smell reached him immediately.<\/p>\n
He actually laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela snapped, \u201cI cooked plenty too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you did,\u201d Nathan replied.<\/p>\n
He took a bite, chewed, then glanced toward the trash can.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo explain something, Mom\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Irene feeding me didn\u2019t make you less of a mother, why did Yoli ordering dinner make her less of a wife?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela tried to speak, but couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was different,\u201d she finally said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d Irene asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her from my chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s eyes flicked toward me.<\/p>\n
Then Irene asked, \u201cWhen I fed Nathan, did you love him less?\u201d<\/p>\n
That ended it.<\/p>\n
Angela sank into the chair.<\/p>\n
For once, nobody rescued her from the silence.<\/p>\n
Nathan eventually said, \u201cMom, you\u2019re going home.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re throwing me out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I fed Nathan, did you love him less?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, yes. And from now on, you call before coming over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela looked wounded.<\/p>\n
Nathan didn\u2019t soften.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threw away my kids\u2019 dinner and told my sick wife to cook. That\u2019s not a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only wanted Nathan taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela looked wounded.<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threw away soup meant for someone with a fever. Whatever lesson you thought you were teaching, it wasn\u2019t about taking care of anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan helped me upstairs.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t leave me behind to smooth things over with his mother.<\/p>\n
That really meant something to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threw away soup meant for someone with a fever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next morning, Angela called first. Nathan answered.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t hear everything he said, but 10 minutes later, there was a quiet knock on our bedroom door.<\/p>\n
She stood in the doorway holding a bowl.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
She entered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoup.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMay I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela paused.<\/p>\n
Then, for perhaps the first time in her life, she gave someone else the credit.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Irene did.\u201d She set it beside me. \u201cI brought it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was all I could give her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela turned to leave, then noticed my empty water glass.<\/p>\n
She picked it up without saying anything.<\/p>\n
A minute later, she returned with it full.<\/p>\n
She placed it beside the medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Yesterday, she\u2019d told me to get up and serve everyone.<\/p>\n
She picked it up without saying anything.<\/p>\n
Today, she was standing beside my bed asking what I needed.<\/p>\n
I glanced toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you close the curtains?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela nodded and pulled them shut.<\/p>\n
Then she lifted Irene\u2019s old casserole dish from the tray and carried it downstairs.<\/p>\n
Today, she was standing beside my bed asking what I needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was too sick to stand at the stove, so I ordered dinner. My MIL threw every untouched container in the trash and told me a good wife cooks for … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42684"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42686,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42684\/revisions\/42686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingdairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}