For a lot of families, meal times are sacred moments, especially dinner time. This is because it's the time of the day when everyone has settled from their busy routine and have some little time for rest and unwinding.
Meal times are bonding times in my family. Growing up, my mother would always share the cooked food in such a way that we had to eat together. Usually, if it was swallow with soup, considering our numbers, we ate say, two or three per a big serving. Maybe if it was white rice with stew, we would eat separately.
This stuck with us. Even now, with how grown we all are, we still get to eat together. Apart from the fact that I think that it was a way to make sure that out pot of food did not finish in the blink of an eye, I think too that it brought us together and made us closer as a family.
It was a thing that we were brought up by. And maybe because we did not grow up in a large house, it made it all easier to eat together and at the same time. The only time that this did not work was when one person was away or not ready to eat(this one, waiting for someone who was not ready when you were was very annoying). It was during such a situation that we got to eat differently. But most often, my mom would have us wait particularly, if she did not think that the food was too big enough to eat some portion and leave sone fot the other person.
Until this day, many times, we still est together. It brought us closer as a family and made us bond better. It was mostly fun, I tell you. Because if you had to eat with your brothers(my sister ate with my parents and only joined us a few times), you had to learn many things. You had to learn that even food dynamics worked by the survival of the fittest. It was fun to rush through food, to have to share pieces of meat and fish, and you even subconsciously grew a cooling machine in your mouth. Not to forget all the arguments(rarely) and many stories and laughter that we shared.
Too, my mother had a sharing pattern when it came to food ,like eba and soup, which we all could not get to eat together. Those who ate faster and were best descriptions of consumers ate together in order that they don't finish the whole food in a second while those who took their time to run through each meal had their dinner together.
This practice of having meals together is one that I have cone to appreciate very much. It is a practice that extends to my larger family. Whenever they come by my house or we visit theirs, we all get to eat together. It made us connect and catch up over the plates of food. Even my parents eat with their siblings whenever they are together.
As to where, we could have our meals wherever we choose. Inside the house, outside the house, on the table, while sitting on the floor, just anywhere and at our desired time. It's all preference, and it doesn't alter our bond.
Dinner together does strengthen bonds amongst members of a family. I'm not sure that eating apart dents the bond **cause in my case, it could never. But I know that together, there's the indescribable feeling of warmth that is shared.
I hope you found this interesting to read. Do tell me if dining together was a practice at your home and what you think of it. Thank you for coming around.
