Meat Loaf Eases Pain

Sunday evening we were invited to our dear friends', Debby and Lou's, house for a meat loaf dinner.  Debby claims that her meatloaf is nothing special -- just hamburger, onion soup mix, and oatmeal.  However, what comes out of her pan every single time is VERY special -- I'm not sure if it's the love she puts into the loaf pans or the way she bakes them so the meatloaves come out of the oven with this perfect blend of crispy outside and savory, tender inside -- but her meatloaf is the best I've ever eaten.

Meatloaf is one of my most favorite foods, but as I age I find it hard to come across a good meatloaf.  My own never comes quite up to snuff.  Debby claims it's because I have to make it for myself.  I just can't seem to get the right crispy versus tender combination.  Hubby invents a new meatloaf every time he makes one. They are good -- but they just don't have Debby's touch that makes hers the food of the gods.

Hubby is still in enormous pain.  I can tell because he has become evil, cross, uncommunicative, and downright obtuse.  Now he has been all these things in the past -- but never all at once.  Living with him has become a real challenge -- especially since I'm having my own traumas facing retirement for eternity in 11 days time.  We are not currently a very pleasant household to be around.  I'm super stressed and he's super evil, which, even though I know is caused by the pain, I'm taking personally. 

Debby served up the meatloaf, along with macaroni and cheese, some fresh cantaloupe with lovely blueberries, and then -- to totally please Hubby, topped it all off with Hagen Daas ice cream.  I opted for a second (or was it third?) piece of meatloaf instead of the ice cream.  Slowly, as we consumed every last morsel on our plates we began to mellow out.  The pain was still bad, my exhaustion and stress were still there -- but it all seemed a bit farther away, less intense, more manageable.

And then, to top off a really lovely evening of conversation and food, Debby sent us home with an entire meatloaf of our own, to snack and dine on for the week.

We have a doctor's appointment at 1 p.m this afternoon.  I'm bowing out of school early to go with Hubby so he won't just sit there and tell the doctor that he's "fine" and he won't be able to leave the doctor's office and then tell me that "nothing happened."  We've got to find a way to make this pain more manageable, even if the recovery time is going to be prolonged.  And when we get home from out medical foray, we will each have a huge meatloaf sandwich.  Good friends really do help ease your load.