Dinner talk

Last night was HostMoms birthday. It was also the first time we actually sat down and all ate a meal together. Not eating meals as a family is so weird for me. most nights when I was little my Mom, Dad, sister, brother and I would sit down and eat together. We'd share our experiences of the day. During summer that mostly consisted of me crying because my brother and sister locked me out of the house for 4 hours, causing me to go count blades of grass in the backyard.

I remember one family meal very vividly. My sister was 17 and I was 12 or 13. Halfway through the meal my sister decided to announce that she was pregnant. I was eating a roll and just kept stuffing pieces in my mouth...and didn't bother to swallow. After 5 minutes of silence, I was still stuffing, my cheeks were huge. My mom had to inform me that I needed to swallow or else I was going to choke. How else is someone supposed to respond when their sister who is still in high school tells the dinner table that she's pregnant. A few weeks later she lost the baby.

Family meals were the greatest. I honestly believe its one of the most important things a family can do together. I feel bad for these kids I'm nannying for. During the school year it's just the three of us. It's better than nothing I guess.