Smells Like Depression And Burnt Beans

I nearly killed my family with a lone pot of beans.

   To understand how any why any of this occurred to begin with, you have to understand the weird balance my life is sitting in at the moment. I live with my partner, my two children, my brother and my parents. Now, my dad commandeers my room five days out of the week for work - he teaches from home. My mom is chronically ill. My partner had the kids this particular morning and I was tired from school, depression, and being a parent. 

   So there I was: on the couch, catching up on sleep. I'd just lowered the beans to a low setting so they could simmer for 3 hours. I retrieved my comforter from my bed and had one of my comfort shows on - Please Like Me. The dialogue from the show intermingled with my dreams. It created a weird rift of being half awake and in a deep sleep. Cue my dad's voice booming through. 

   "There's so much smoke!" I jolted awake at the panic in his voice. The kitchen, living room and hallways were filled with a charred fog. It was harder to breath than it had been when I was asleep. My dad thought fast and grabbed the pot with some oven mitts and hurried to the front door. I caught a glimpse inside. The beans I put in there were a bright yellow as the sulfur furiously spouted out the seam of the lid. My mom and I opened the windows and turned on our fans. Fortunately the smoke didn't make its way to any rooms with closed doors, so my partner and kids were fine. 

   "Ugh. I was gonna make soup with that pot today," my mother complains while shooting me a frustrated glance.

   "Well, it's not like I have beans today either, so there's disappointments all around," I reply in an attempt to lighten up the mood. Neither of us had the energy to laugh. All we could do for the next 20 minutes was wait for the smoke to leave the house. 

   The pot finally cooled down. It was time to assess the damage I'd done. I filled it back up with cold water and allowed it to sit for 10 minutes. The beans practically jumped off. The soot on the bottom, however, would take more coaxing. I didn't have a change to take a photo of it myself, but this is a common issue apparently. Here's a photo of someone else's burnt bean catastrophe. 

   

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