Come And Get It!!!

One of the best memories that I have from my childhood is the family dinners that we had each night. This is strange to me as I also remember that when I was younger I was always bothered that I had to come in from playing and eat at a specific time and I was never allowed to just throw down the food as quick as I could and rush back out to catch one more game of hide and seek, there was family time to be had! But now, as an adult (39 years and it still sounds weird to call myself an adult) I can appreciate those times.

Guaranteed, I have tried to re-create the family dinner many times with all of the poor men or roommates that have come and gone, but nothing quite compares. I finally just gave up trying and like they say (whoever the fuck they are) once you stop trying, it happens.

You may or may not know but our family of four, which includes the pets, has increased to six! Nathan is here staying with us for a while, checking out the big city, seeing what it has to offer that can't be found in Aberdeen, and Todd is also shacking up at La Hacienda establishing his career, waiting for his house to sell so he can then get his own place and move Kelly and the kids down here to the land of the sun. As chaotic as it may sound, there are many pay offs to being the only girl in a house of three men, a dog and a cat! First, I never have to be on poop duty anymore. Second, I no longer have to be responsible for taking out the garbage or recycling. Third, whenever there are bugs or lizards that have found their way into the house, there is always someone here to get them back out! The best part by far though, is dinner time.

We rarely sit in front of the TV with trays, we sit at the kitchen table (not to be confused with the dining room table which rarely gets used. I swore I would never be like my mother and have furniture that didn't get used - oh well!) and we talk, and laugh, and plan our next meal our next movie or our next weekend adventure. We talk about work, movies, music, pets, past experiences and future goals and plans.

So, although the dinner conversation is different as it is primarily led by testosterone unlike the estrogen filled conversations of my youth (poor Dad, only relief he got once I hit the age of 12 was when Grandpa would join us each Sunday), they are family dinners - the ones I have been longing so many years for.