The Miracle of Multitasking
The dictionary defines multitasking as:
the simultaneous execution of more than one program or task by a single computer processor
Yet we often talk about people multitasking. I’ve heard some say that it really isn’t possible for people to multitask. They claim that they cannot really work on more than one thing at a time, therefore they cannot multitask. If you want to get that technical, a single computer processor doesn’t really multitask either. At any given instance, it will only be executing one program. Yet it divides its time up to the point that it appears to multitask. In that sense, people can too.
And now, I offer, the best example of human multitasking: Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner!
I’m taking a break from cooking Thanksgiving this year. It’s a much needed break. If I were cooking this year, I would already be knee deep in cooking. I would have bought most of the groceries last week, the fresh fruit & produce run would have been yesterday morning. And today would have started cooking. We usually pick up our fresh, free-range turkey on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
I have notes I keep from year to year of what I do and when. It’s helpful b/c I record which recipes I use, how big the turkey was, who came to dinner, etc. A lot of the cooking is done before Thursday. I make the corn bread that I use for the dressing. I also cut up and saute the onions, mushrooms and celery that go into the dressing. I usually bake a pecan pie and also make a Key Lime Pie. I prepare the sweet potatoes and make the fruit salad. I also make my own cranberry sauce. That started b/c one year I decided to try making fresh cranberry sauce. It was so good that I haven’t even thought about buying canned cranberry sauce since then.
Yet still there’s a lot to be done on Thursday. And it requires intense planning and multitasking to have everything be ready at the same time. I usually will be cooking a stuffed turkey, additional dressing, sweet potatoes, gravy. As well as preparing relish trays and ice tea, and setting the table. My husband makes killer green beans so that is his task each year.
And through the miracle of multitasking, it is all ready and on the table at the same time!
If you’re preparing Thanksgiving Dinner this year, give yourself a pat on the back! It is quite an accomplishment!
