Home Economics for reluctant students

Remember how much we, or maybe it was just me, hated Home Economics—especially in the days when the Home Ec. classes were a girls only affair. All the boys seemed much happier going to Shop and making bookshelves and lamps than I was going to Home Ec. making biscuits, aprons and pillows.

My mother, never one to be out of steps with the times, demanded that I be allowed to attend Shop class when I was in Grade 9.

At the time we were living in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. So not only was I the new kid, which I was almost every year of my life because we moved so much, but I also had to live up to my mother’s expectations and buck the trend, forcing my way into Shop.

The first day was grand. The boys cat called me as I walked in. The Shop teacher with the inevitably missing thumb looked at me like I was the dessert tray in a fancy restaurant, and I couldn’t even focus on the work I was supposed to do because I had never operated a table saw before. And I wanted to keep all my fingers; I was fond of them as I already was a writer and found them useful for typing.

I was, of course, the only girl who had ever taken the class.

I don’t remember staying in Shop for long. The constant harassment and the final realization on my mother’s part that I might not be safe in that den of lions, led me back to the more gentile life in Home Ec. I remember making a blue pillowcase with a ruffle and zipper that year as well as a few lessons on meal planning; something that never happened in my chaotic house.

And today I am brought back to those off-white walls, planning sheets and hypothetical grocery lists, because it is now that those Home Economics lessons have finally become useful.

As of yesterday, a State of Emergency was declared in the province where I live due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. We are allowed to make trips to the grocery store, post office, and pharmacy; but are asked not to go outside of our homes more than absolutely necessary. And here is where Home Ec. and meal planning comes into this story.

For my entire life I have been a frequent grocery shopper. Deciding in the morning or maybe even 30 minutes before supper time, what I would put on the table. This often requires a quick trip to the grocery for one or two items.

I always liked this kind of dinner prep. I liked the obvious freshness of any produce required. It made me feel like those little old ladies I saw in Italy who travelled to the market at least once a day to get fresh cheese, meat and vegetables for their daily meals.

But now, as part of doing my COVID-19 self-isolation duty I have turned to the fine art of meal planning as taught to me by a no doubt, much maligned, Home Economics teacher more than 30 years ago.  

I plan to go to the grocery store once a week. A concept that made my children gasp. Surely the ice cream won’t hold; of that I am positive. But this is a time to make changes and adjustments for the greater good.

So, I’ll eat less ice cream, plan meals for the week, and stay the hell away from other people.