Similar to how we had our bathroom remodeled in order to become more accessible, we’ve been trying to have our kitchen updated as well. It’s been slow going. And honestly, it’s not reasonable to expect Namine to not cook at all, given their enthusiasm and love for it. Unfortunately, that has had mixed results.
Grilled cheese of rebellion
Part of parenting, unfortunately, is making mistakes. I’m only human, as are we all, and sometimes the best I can hope for is forgiveness. That, and learning from my mistakes. I keep making them, but hopefully they’re all new ones.
I work remotely out of the house, and Namine attends school remotely as well. I usually make sure they have lunch before I head out on my midday run, but on this particular day — I don’t recall when but it was still in the winter — I did not. This was not fair to them, nor was it fair to tell them to wait, or expect them to just make themselves a cold sandwich on a cold day. But I went out, and they decided to make themselves a grilled cheese sandwich.
Given that Namine cannot see very well over the top of the stove, I would not have been comfortable with them doing this. However, they did, and did so successfully. So of course as soon as they were done, they texted me while I was still on my run: “I didn’t listen to you and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich.”
Admittedly, I was not happy with the defiance. But I was also in the wrong, so I apologized for that too. I was, however, proud of Namine for taking the initiative and cooking on the stove by themselves.
Setting off the smoke alarm
The other day, I was about to head out on a lunch run. Namine was cool with that, and asked me if I minded them making a grilled cheese sandwich on the stove. I admit my “helicopter parent” alarm bells went off on my head, but I suppressed them and said that was fine.
I was only a mile away from home when the smart alarm system sent a notification to my watch: “Fire Alarm.” True panic kicked in, and I turned around and started sprinting toward home. And no sooner than when I called Namine, the alarm company called me. I explained, breathless, that I was out and I didn’t know what was going on at home, but that I was on my way. (I am not a fast runner, though, and it would be probably ten minutes or longer until I reached the house.)
While I was on the phone with them, Jessica tried calling me. I ignored it, because while I knew she was panicking like I was, there was nothing I could yet tell her. Also while I was on the phone, Namine manually disengaged the alarm on the physical panel, thus assuring the agent that it was not an incident requiring emergency personnel.
When I got home, Namine assured me that they were not hurt. As I mentioned, Namine cannot see very well over the stovetop, and so could not see that their bread was actually burning. The smoke triggered the alarm, and well, you know the rest.
This just cements further the fact that we need a usable and accessible kitchen for Namine. It won’t deter them from cooking — in fact, they helped me make an egg sandwich the following morning. But it was scary, and a reminder of how quickly things can go pear-shaped. (Also, I was wrong about my speed, at least in the midst of an adrenaline rush. I ran the mile home in about seven minutes.)
Leave a Reply