I love to cook. And I love to eat. But I think more than that, I love to cook for and eat with my family. There is something strangely intimate about sharing a meal. We go out on first date dinners, anniversary dinners, shower lunches, family reunion picnics, girls’ night out dinner and drinks, business proposal lunches. What is it about food that brings us all together?
When I was growing up, I remember always eating dinner with my family. And as my sisters, brother and I grew up, we started playing sports, having a part-time job, or just having other things that prevented us to be home at dinnertime. Regardless, coming home after a basketball game or after my shift at the video store, dinner was still there for me and someone sat with me so I didn’t eat alone.
I grow prematurely nostalgic thinking about dinners now with my husband and kids and how those days will soon be memories as our daily lives continue to change. I have to remind myself not to get upset when the kids complain about what we are eating or that it is taking too long to finish. Soon enough, the one hour we spend at the dinner table won’t be a daily ritual, but hopefully it will be part of what strengthens our family enough that we will continue to have and want to have dinners together as often as we can.
Who do you share meals with? What does it mean to you?