Iron Skillet

Contributed by Ashley Reed

Whenever I can hear rock n’ roll or heavy metal while walking down the hallway that leads to my apartment, I know that my boyfriend is over. Not only that, but I also know that he is cooking. Yesterday, I came home to Led Zeppelin pounding through the speakers,  breaded chicken sizzling in oil , and pasta boiling in hot water. About half an hour after arriving home, I was sitting in front of a steaming plate of pasta marinated in vodka sauce and covered in melted cheese, alongside crispy chicken that had just been fried minutes before. It was glorious comfort food that I was craving after my wisdom tooth surgery had me on a diet of scrambled eggs and smoothies for two weeks. My boyfriend loves to cook, and he often “surprises” me by coming to my apartment right after he finishes his shift to cook dinner before I get home from work.  I trust his opinion when buying anything culinary-related. Recently, he bought a iron skillet that he had been pining over for a year. When he first bought it, he seasoned it before cooking anything in it. Which was strange to me - I had never heard of seasoning cookware before! After dinner, he told me that if you continually take care of an iron skillet, it can last for generations. Apparently the older a skillet is, the tastier the food cooked in it is! However, if you neglect your skillet and take poor care of it, it will last you only a year or so. My metaphorical mind couldn’t pass up an opportunity to compare Alex’s care of his iron skillet to the care that we put into relationships. Not just romantic relationships, but also the bonds we have with family, friends, and co-workers. Just like an iron skillet, relationships require plenty of TLC.  If you neglect a friendship and put in a half-hearted effort, you will most likely end up with a broken-off relationship. But if you put time and effort into your relationship, “seasoning” it with shared experiences, you are more likely to have a long lasting bond that ages well with time. Do you have any relationships that could use some more TLC? What can you do to work on that relationship? Follow us on social media or check out our web page to find lots of tips on how to enrich your relationships.