I suppose you’re wondering why this title got placed under the food category … and/or why you’re staring at a picture of a grilled cheese sandwich.  To digress, growing up “Little House on the Prairie” was my favorite television show in the world, and remains in my top five even today.  In one particular episode Pa works for this woman who pays him in her old fine china.  I related to that a lot because once my daddy painted for a prominent jeweler and when he went for his money the man would only pay him with jewelry.  That is incredibly devastating when you know your father is worried sick about making the rent.  But you know what?  I remember him taking both my mother and me in that jewelry store and the owner treated us like royalty.  Mama picked out a gold necklace shaped like a rose in bloom that had diamonds in the center.  It was understated and elegant, just like she was.  And I got my first gold cross with a pink stone in it (one of October’s birthstones) that I wore proudly to church and on special occasions until I replaced it with the white gold and sapphire one I got working at Lord & Taylor when I was in college.  I still wear it to this day.  I keep searching for my childhood one, as Maris’ birthstone is also October and her favorite color is pink.  My mother wore that rose necklace for more than thirty years.  She never took it off unless it was briefly to have it cleaned.  I removed it from her neck with trembling hands the day she died.  We would never have been able to have something so impractical as that fine jewelry if the jeweler had not had any other way to pay Daddy.  In that episode of “Little House on the Prairie” Pa worked overtime to give Ma something IMpractical.  Their lives were so hard and they did not have occasion for much frippery.  What stuck with me was she declared they were going to eat on their fine china every night from then on.  Her family was shocked.  But she was right; she said every night with her family was special and worth celebrating.  Which brings me to this grilled cheese sandwich.  A panini grill was given to us as a wedding present over nine years ago which I felt was impractical.  After all, we had an oven with a broiler and a toaster.  It came from a high end shop and I confess I’d always intended to return it.  For some reason I never got around to it and it has lived perfectly preserved in its box deep in a drawer in our kitchen this whole time.  Digging for something else, I realized it was sucking up a lot of space.  Knowing it was way too old to take back, I removed our toaster and placed this grill out instead.  It made the perfect grilled cheese sandwich with absolutely NO effort.  None.  I didn’t have to watch it, flip it, or burn my fingers.  And it was instant.  WHY had I waited so long to enjoy this?  I suppose because I felt it unnecessary and therefore not practical.  I was a heroine at lunch as my little family gobbled down Trader Joe’s whole wheat gluten free bread with sharp cheddar cheese.  My little one said I was the greatest.  And for one glorious moment I felt like the character Ma:  adored, cherished, and superlative.  American singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder said, “Time is long but life is short.”  How much time did I spend not using that panini grill?  I resolve to use it and enjoy it as often as possible.  More importantly — I intend to remember the lesson it taught me.