Bena Mae’s Kitchen: The One

Do you believe there’s just one man who’s perfect for every woman? Or visa versa?
I’m wading into territory in which I have no expertise, folks. Except for my own marriage which lasted for 47 years. So I can only speak for myself.
And I’m fully aware that many times second marriages turn out to be more successful than the first. So there’s no set theory that defines who will be the best life mate.  It’s a game of Russian roulette.
We ladies, especially, have a romantic notion of the clouds parting and there will be standing one amazing man who runs toward us through a field of flowers and grabs us up in his arms and twirls us around. I know it’s a fantasy, but it began during our fairy tale years and has refused to let go.  Because we are hopelessly romantics.
I love to people watch. I do this often when I’m waiting for a friend who is shopping and I find a bench outside the store and sit and indulge my habit of watching couples walk by while I wait. Call it a study in what attracts people to each other. And I still don’t have the answer.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Tall man, short woman. Tall woman, short man. Some obese, some skinny as a rail.  Attractive, non-attractive.
What is the attraction, I ask myself.  Chemistry? Sense of humor? Compatibility? Love encompasses all the above plus much more.  
But will it last after the vows are said and the marriage is sealed and we settle into a lifetime of togetherness? Will it be the white cottage and picket fence we’ve always dreamed it would be? Or how soon will his habit of reading the newspaper aloud at breakfast time begin to gnaw at our nerves? Or the way he uses the door knobs as the closet when he changes his clothes, clears his throat, finishes our sentences? Little things  that eventually become the Chinese water torture treatment.  Will love over-ride all this?
But wait, there’s a flip side to this. And we ladies are not entirely innocent. When we argue that he is sports addictive, are we forgetting our passion for the soaps?  Are we nagging when we complain that he doesn’t help around the house, pick up his shoes, snores in his sleep? So it’s Tit for Tat.
With the miracle of 20/20 hindsight, and the wisdom that comes with age, I can truly admit to some, if not all of the foregoing.  Therefore, my best advice to you is, just look round you and count your blessings.  And ask yourself, just whom would I trade places with?  
And remember the words of Mae West: Do not marry a man or woman to reform them.  That is what reform schools are for.
 

I’m finding that locally-grown strawberries are excellent this year.  This is a delicious way of serving them.

Angelic  Strawberry Dessert

1-1/2 cups milk
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 ounces frozen whipped topping thawed
1 teaspoon orange peel shredded
7 cups angel food cake cut into 1” cubes
4 cups strawberries sliced and divided

In large mixing bowl combine milk, pudding mix and vanilla.
Beat with electric mixer on low until combined.
Beat on medium for 2 minutes more then fold in sour cream, whipped topping and orange peel.
Layer cake cubes, strawberries and pudding mixture then repeat layers.
Chill at least 4 hours before serving then serve topped with remaining strawberries.