Greetings!
I came from a home that wasn’t opportune to eat in a standard dining setting like the ones we see in well-furnished homes or in movies. Despite this, our mealtimes were always enjoyable.
You know that kind of village setting where eating happens in different spots around the house? Sometimes inside the local kitchen, sometimes in the parlour, and sometimes even in the room. It was the kind of setting where, most times, one didn’t need to look for a chair to sit properly before joining the group to eat. Yes, that’s the kind I grew up with, and it was usually fun. The way food was served and how everyone rushed to eat, coupled with the talks and laughter, made it such a unique experience.
Back then, we never saw any fun in eating alone. In fact, even when my sisters made mistakes while cooking, they still preferred to eat with everyone, even though my male siblings and I would tease them about their cooking skills.
Even I, who disliked poor table manners while eating, never found myself eating alone. I remember times when relatives visited us for holidays. Most of them would have runny noses, which irritated me so much that I would complain a lot. Yet, I never chose to eat alone because of it. It baffled me how the rest of my family didn’t find such behavior unpleasant. I think that was my only pet peeve during dinner time—seeing a runny nose, especially from someone old enough to know how to blow it. I know I’ll cope with it when I have children, though. Lol.
This tradition hasn’t diminished in our house. Eating together is still very much a thing, and I miss it so much. That’s why, whenever I visit home, I make sure to always join everyone at mealtime. I have been living alone for a long time now, and even though my brother stays with me, he’s not always around, so we rarely eat together. In fact, it only happens once in a while.
Sincerely speaking, I never considered this act a form of bonding. We were trained this way, and it became a part of us—it’s now a tradition. But yeah, looking at it deeply, it’s a great way to bond, especially during those moments of talking and laughing. My dinner time at home wasn’t the kind where talking was restricted in the name of good table manners. No, we were free to talk and laugh. The only thing my dad frowned upon so much was pressing phones while eating. He would get so angry that he’d want to grab the phone and smash it on the ground.
This is why my younger siblings sometimes don’t find it interesting to have him around during dinner. But for us, as grown-ups, there’s not much he can do. He can only give us that bombastic side-eye, and that’s all. Lol.
Thanks for reading.
Image used is mine
