It should come as no surprise that my mom is Dylan's daycare. He stays at her house with her during the week and catches the good old yellow school bus from her driveway while I am working my fingers to the bone (stop rolling your eyes) at the day job.
A couple days a week, I tend to stay at her house after picking him up so we can eat dinner.
Family dinner had been a part of my family for as long as I can remember. We all gathered together, my father at the head of the table, my mom opposite him and my siblings and I and whichever friends had weasled their way into one of my mom's home cooked meals flanked the table.
We never ate early, we were a 7:00pm kind of family. Everyone was home and we sat at the table, together. Talking, making snide sarcastic comments to one another.
My mother made some sort of meat every night, with a starch and two vegetables every single day. Sometimes she felt saucy and there was also a salad or some bread on top of everything else. This was every day. I mean sure, occasionally we ate out or had take-out, but 98% of the time we sat in the kitchen and watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeapordy on TV and we ate, together.
The table was always set. Always. Matching plates with folded napkins to one side, fork on the napkin, and knife on the other side. Everyone had a glass. My father hated paper plates, so it was always plates. Real ceramic plates. (I know most of you are wondering what those are...)
Having moved out over a decade ago, I am sort of glad this is still a tradition. Whenever we are all there, we all squeeze together at the table in the kitchen, eating as a family. And still, Pat Sajack, Vanna White and Alex Trebek join us nightly.
No one takes their plates and meanders off into other rooms to eat. It's kind of old fashioned. It's nice. Whoever misses the meal, a plate is nearly always made up for them. My mom is a snarky June Cleaver.
Some of the most hilarious conversations I have ever been a part of in my life took place at these dinners.
Here's a few jems from the past couple of weeks.
Todd: "So a friends girlfriend said earlier it was a Depeche Mode kind of day. I told her she should listen with ice cream"
Mom: "Why?"
Todd: "So she could have Depeche ala Mode"
Me: *hysterical laughter*
*Right before the State of the Union Address
Katie Couric: "Now back to the nudes, news." (correcting her on-air slip)
Mom: "She's probably thinking about another story."
Todd: "She's probably still thinking of the First Lady's box"(Based on a comment about the First Lady's box said about the State of the Union earlier)
Me: *hysterical laughter*
*On the phone with my mother on my way to dinner from work
Mom: "You coming in?"
Me (on the phone): "Yes."
Mom: "Good that way you can look at his school papers and shit"
Dylan (from the other room): "HEY!"
Mom: "What?" (in response to Dylan)
Dylan: "You called my stuff shit!"
Me: *hysterical laughter*
Ahh, family.
I miss those kinds of family dinners. I've been trying to do the same in my own home but we often slip. There's something great about tradition of that sort. Always a happy thought of home.
ReplyDeleteGood times!
Hope all is well. Haven't talked to you in ages.
I also miss family dinners. We did the same thing - real plates, folded napkins, assigned seats. Every time I go to my parents', we still do dinner. My mom even does courses - salad course, main meal, and dessert. Now, I eat off a coffee table. Some day, I'll get the family dinner back.
ReplyDeleteI never had those types of dinners growing up. My dad was always away. But now, although we don't sit at a table, my little family sits in front of the tv and we all eat together and chat. Sort of untraditionally traditional. LOL We do eat at the table when we visit my mom and stepdad now, and the in-laws so that's nice.
ReplyDeleteYour family convo's are great! :D By the way, thank you for stopping by and reading my poem. So glad you liked it! :) And, great to see your blog's doing so well... I "liked" you on FB. :)
The current remarks sound like dinner with my in-laws (whom I dearly love.) Great senses of humor. The family dinners sound like those of my childhood. Always meat, potato, and a vegetable or two. Always eaten at the table. Maybe a TV on in the background, but never eaten in front of the TV.
ReplyDelete