Burnt Toast

[Tori]

When I was about eight or nine, my mom burnt some toast.

One night that stood out in my mind is when she had made dinner for us after a very long and rough day at work, She placed a plate of jam and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. Not slightly burnt but completely blackened toast.

I was just waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt toast and would say anything. But Dad just ate his toast and asked me if I did my homework and how my day was. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember hearing my mom apologizing to dad for burning the toast. And I’ll never forget what he said:

“Sweetie, I love burned toast.”

Later that night, I went to tell my dad good night and ask him if he really liked his toast burned. He put his arm on my shoulder and said,
“Your momma put in a very long day at work today and she was very tired. And besides, A burnt toast never hurts anyone but you know what does? Harsh words!”

Then he continued to say “You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like every other human. What I’ve learned over the years, is that learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences, is one of the most important keys for creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. Life is too short to wake up with regrets. Love the people who treat you right and have compassion for the ones who don’t.

Enjoy Life Now and Praise God!

[Cervus]

Burnt toast never hurts anyone, but it wouldn't hurt you to make dinner when mom is tired, Dad.

[crocoduck_hunter]

Technically, burnt toast is a carcinogen.

And yeah, Dad can consider fixing dinner on nights when Mom's exhausted. And you know, it's also useful to try talking with your spouse when they arrive home. Then you might find out that they had a long, stressful day and would really appreciate you actually helping out.

Also, I love how "praise God" is just tacked on at the end.

[snopes]

[Alarm]

I notice that either the toast was the only thing for supper..
or the supper was fine and only the toast was burnt (probably because SOMEONE fiddled with the toaster while Mom was busy).

[A Turtle Named Mack]

Originally Posted by Cervus

Burnt toast never hurts anyone, but it wouldn't hurt you to make dinner when mom is tired, Dad.

Originally Posted by crocoduck_hunter

And yeah, Dad can consider fixing dinner on nights when Mom's exhausted.

Of course, this is a glurgey story, so all the details are not explained, but there could be a lot of reasons for this situation that do not involve an unhelpful husband. Perhaps they take turns, and neither would consider trading off a turn when tired. Perhaps the husband was taking care of other household tasks that needed doing - child care, laundry, yardwork, cleaning, etc. Perhaps the husband has an even more tiring job, or more time-consuming or a longer commute so that he cannot get a meal going timely. There are also quite a number of women that consider meals their bailiwick, and would not consider letting their husbands attend to it (it always amazes me when on TV and movies, some women characters insist that they take care of even things like making a sandwich for a family member - I figure the writer(s) must be familiar with that sort of attitude, at least for some segment of the population).

[crocoduck_hunter]

Well, given that it's a glurge I just figured it was written by someone who believes in archaic, extremely strict gender roles in households.

[GenYus234]

Who has toast for dinner is what I want to know.

[Alarm]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

Who has toast for dinner is what I want to know.

Toast with jam... and nothing else.

No butter, no peanut butter, no honey, marmalade or chocolate spread.
Just jam...
and burnt toast.

[ganzfeld]

I can just imagine this conversation in my home: "Sweetie, I love burnt toast." "That's nice. If you like it so much, why don't you shove it up your..." "Now hold on! I was just sayi--" "I know what you were saying. Don't patronize me. It's worse than complaining." DS: "Are you guys having issues?" Both: "Oh, don't worry, we love you honey." DS: "Don't patronize me either. You two keep me out of this." ...

Several hours later. "You know son, life is full of..." DS: "Uh-hu. And you're full of it too. I don't think you're really in any position to lecture me this evening. Why don't you just go back to sleep on the sofa."

[Avril]

Maybe she gave him burnt toast because he forgot her birthday and was so blasé about it.

[kitap]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

Who has toast for dinner is what I want to know.

I totally would if I had a toaster and didn't need to watch my carbs. But I would require butter.

[DawnStorm]

Man cannot live by bread alone....he must have peanut butter.

"Brother" Dave Gardener

[smittykins]

And chocolate milk.

[Blatherskite]

Originally Posted by A Turtle Named Mack

Of course, this is a glurgey story, so all the details are not explained, but there could be a lot of reasons for this situation that do not involve an unhelpful husband.

But because it's a fictional situation any one of those reasons could have been included. It's not like we're watching a real slice of life here (or even a realistic one).

Without further explanation it seems as if the glurgist thought no explanation was necessary and it should just be accepted as the way of things. But because it's not typically the way of things for a woman to always cook the meals any more, many people who read this are just going to wonder 'Why didn't he cook something nice for her and their kid instead?' instead of thinking of the husband as generous and saintly for tolerating his stressed wife's burnt toast. I know that was my first thought. A kinder man would have realised his wife wasn't in the mood to cook and made them all something else. If he was no cook he could have even made unburnt toast, for crying out loud! He didn't even seem to give a toss what she had eaten, if anything.

The point I'm rambling around is that this glurge is outdated.

Also, I like toast for any meal. Personally, though, I believe jam on toast is more of a breakfast or even a pudding. I'd have gone for beans on toast as a more appropriate main course.

[A Turtle Named Mack]

Originally Posted by Blatherskite

I'd have gone for beans on toast as a more appropriate main course.

Very British selection, there. I can see that being a good simple meal, although I think I'd start with a bowl of beans and spoon them onto the toast, bite by bite. That way the toast does not get soggy and retains enough strength to not fall apart en route. Maybe that is even how you Brits do it - I would not know.

[Alarm]

If the man saw that his wife was too stressed to cook, a simple "Honey, have some rest, I'll order a pizza" would have been better than "Yummy! Burnt toast!" as a reaction.

One shows he noticed his wife was having a bad day and acted. The other says he didn't notice until the burnt toast arrived and decided to patronize her, instead of apologizing for not noticing what she was going through.

[Gayle]

Write down the date!

I agree with Ganzfeld.

That sweetly patronizing tone would have me wondering where I hid the pitchfork the last time I felt all stabby because someone was treating me like a mentally challenged four year old.

"I'm not Katherine Ross and this isn't Stepford, so please make sure that the next words out of your mouth are carefully considered."

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by Gayle

Write down the date! I agree with Ganzfeld.

Although technically speaking I think it's missus ganz you agree with. I'm the one sleeping on the sofa. (But hopefully it's not for treating her as a four-year-old.)

I don't understand why the guy in the OP didn't just scratch off the burnt parts like most people do. There are so many issues here but one of them is, geez, you must be really full of yourself to think that a little black on your toast is worth lying about your preferences. Not only would I be sleeping on the couch but I think I would be the one getting a long lecture about the important things in life after being told what for about being a patronizing, self-important, fool who thinks my own wife is so dense as to not notice what kinds of foods I like after so many years. (That's a lot of burnt toast served by the both of us. But who's counting?)

[Dasla]

This has reminded me I still have the last piece of raisin bread in the freezer from when it was on special a few weeks ago. Raisin toast and honey for dessert tonight!