Breakfast

I?ve started reading No Impact Man, on Michelle?s recommendation, and this book is probably going to get a lot of face time on the blog in the coming weeks. Just giving you a head?s up that I?ll very likely get annoying about our impact. So far I?m thoroughly enjoying the book.
The first thing that struck me as I started into the book wasn?t thinking about how much garbage I produce. It wasn?t thinking about climate change and trying to find that rhythm for our family that maximizes enjoyment and minimizes our impact. No. The first thing that struck me was holy damn, there are a lot of people out there who don?t cook a single meal.
The author freely admits that his wife doesn?t cook, and until the launch of the project neither did he. In fact, they didn?t even do breakfast at home. BREAKFAST. The best, most amazing meal of the day in its simplicity and they would cop out of breakfast and buy it. Every morning. Sometimes, they had those croissants delivered.
I don?t know if it speaks to my socio-economic class growing up, or just the simple fact that it probably never occurred to my family to order in a croissant every morning even if they had that sort of disposable income, but there is no way in hell I?d be buying breakfast every day. Not that there is any croissant delivery options available in Errington but it is conceivable that I could drive to the local coffee shop just to eat breakfast.
It?s just that, well, its breakfast. Everything about breakfast is easy, even fried eggs on toast. I have a fried egg on toast Every. Single. Day. I can make myself breakfast, and coffee, while simultaneously ensuring that the kids have cereal and fruit and a sippy cup of milk! I am a Super Mommy!
Not.
Toast toasts itself and all I have to do is remember to flip the egg between stirring the coffee and buttering the toast. And neither of those tasks require any sort of mental capacity, I can do it while still essentially being asleep. If I over-cook my egg I actually get quite angry, it happens so seldomly.
Even the coffee is easy because it?s instant and takes a total of 30 seconds to prepare (I actually know this to be true, it?s 30 seconds from the time the jar gets taken out of the cupboard until that same jar is returned to the cupboard). The only frazzled part of my morning is trying to enjoy said coffee and pretending I don?t actually have two toddlers to deal with, which is why I typically get out of bed 15 minutes before they do. A hot cup of coffee is much tastier than a cold cup.
At any rate, it got me thinking, how many people out there are ordering in breakfast? Am I really that removed from my own society that I didn?t even realize people would routinely do this?
I thought that we were weird enough sitting down to eat dinner every night. And when I say we sit down to eat dinner; I?m talking a pre-set table with placemats and all of us eating, or at least complaining about, the same meal that most likely did not come from a box. Once in a blue moon it comes from a box but normally it?s a real meal. Not a very tasty meal considering I?m the worse cook ever, but it is real food. I was shocked to realize that a lot of families don?t actually do this. In fact, a lot of stay-at-home types don?t even cook dinner. Man do I wish I got in on that deal.