Family Dinner

Several years ago my aunt, uncles and I began meeting one evening a week after work for a glass of wine at my grandmother’s home so we could see each other. We each visit my grandmother, now 102 years old, every day, but our visits rarely overlap. Aunt Gail visits for breakfast and newspaper, Uncle Steve visits for lunch and crossword puzzles and I visit for evening snack and the ceremonial locking of the doors for the night. We enjoy what we are able to do for our beloved Big Red (longstanding nickname for my grandmother), but we miss seeing each other, ergo the weekly get-together. The weekly glass of wine soon evolved into more than just an opportunity to see each other but into a weekly dinner, with each of us taking a turn at preparing the meal and setting the scene for a family history lesson.

Tonight was one of our weekly dinners, and it served to remind me, as it does every week, of how much I love and need my family. My mother was the eldest daughter of ten children; I am the eldest granddaughter of, how many – maybe 100 "greats and grands". Family is my touchstone; family is my universe. Our weekly fellowship does more than allow us to visit with one another – it reminds us of our history, it reminds us of our connections, it reminds us of from whence we came. We may be different, but we are the same. We may hold different political views, but we have the same morals (however they may be interpreted), and the same values. We share the same history; we share the same legacy. Meeting once a week allows us to remember that even though someone may bring a vegetarian dinner of tofu lettuce wraps, others can broaden their horizons by trying new things and realizing that tofu can be tasty!