Regroup and Recharge

After work two days a week, my husband, Jean-Claude, cooks large batches of steamed zucchini, carrots and green beans, and makes mashed yams. We pay special attention to eating five fruits and vegetables every day because of the negative side effects of the antipsychotic drugs I take for schizophrenia. Eating a balanced diet can help avoid some of the serious illnesses brought on by the medication.

It is a lot of work to prepare fresh food, especially after a long day, and with bills and other household chores to do. Thank goodness Jean-Claude finds cooking to be therapeutic. He uses the time in the kitchen to play worship music, or spend time alone unwinding from his day.

I try to sit in the living room and read or write and give him the space he needs to recharge. There are times when the two of us are in adjoining rooms and can see each other, but both remain completely quiet. The silence is broken only by a call from the kitchen, “Come and taste this!”