From: The Annals of Family History - Chapter 3
When Old Man was Young Man and the kids were younger - when the world was new and all, dinners could sometimes be very, oh, what's the word? tense.
Ours was a very nontraditional dinner-time. We ate with one another with no television running in the background for distraction. This, Dear Reader, is ancient history, not even cable or dish networks had been invented, much less the Internet, computers and cell phones. I don't know how families do it these days. Why, I was on that very popular social website (which I can't name because of the Terms of Service on Blogger, the hosting website for this blog. I am not allowed to say their name, or any product name, for that matter). Anyway, here I was reading all the posts by family and friends, when a new one from Son came through. It simply said, "Daughter, get downstairs, dinner is ready." Not 2 seconds later, Daughter posted, "But, Dad, I'm right in the middle of a school project." Her father's response? "Then how did you answer me here on this social network? Get off the computer and join us for supper."
But, I digress. I insisted that we gather around the table to eat together because I felt it was important to behave like a family, albeit an imperfect one, at least once a day. Most of the time, dinner was a happy time, but if Young Man had a bad day at the office, then things got VERY tense.
On those days, Young Man's garrulousness would dominate the conversation and all the kids and I could do was to eat and listen - quickly. Dinners were short. As were attention spans.
Younger Son and Younger Daughter could sometimes lighten the mood if they had the inclination to do so. One evening, Young Man was droning on about his boss, unfair tax laws, and I'm not sure what else. I was busy trying to keep the kids under control.
Younger Daughter developed a twitch. Not an eye twitch, not a facial tic, but a full-body twitch. Every few seconds she jerked to the right. I tried to give her the Evil Eye, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Younger Brother who sat across the table. Oh, my! He had a twitch, too!
That's when it happened. Something hit my shin with the force of a sledgehammer. My eyes crossed, my mouth pursed, trying not to explode, I shoved the table away to grab my shin, pushing it right into Young Man. He stopped mid-sentence. Everything and everyone went silent.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Younger Son was rid of his full-body twitch only to develop something much more sinister. His shoulders rolled forward, his cheeks filled with air, his face turned red and he dare not look at anyone.
Giggle. Younger Daughter was not as successful in stifling her inner laughter. Hand over her mouth to hold it all in, she peered at her father who was glaring at everyone.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Looking straight at her Dad, Older Daughter giggled. Which led to Older Son to crack a smile. My leg still hurt too much to laugh. But Younger Son's laughter couldn't be contained any longer. His rolling giggle came out of his belly unbidden and uncontrollable. This gave Younger Daughter permission to let go of her laughter. If she were in trouble, she knew she wasn't alone. I couldn't help but crack a smile myself, in spite of my shin.
Young Man was not amused. Younger Son and Younger Daughter tried to stifle their laughter once again. Older Son's cracked smile became a full-blown grin and then a great belly laugh erupted. Older Daughter decided she wouldn't contain it either.
Soon all four children and I were laughing. Young Man was beat! In the face of 5 people laughing at absolutely nothing, he could not resist. When we heard the first snicker, all of us became silent. Was that a smile? Dinner all but forgotten, laughter and smiles filled the room. It was the first time in a long time that Young Man let his hair down. He was all the better for it.
Nowadays, there's no stopping Old Man and his jokes and banters. Sometimes life still gets him down, as it does all of us, but it's so much easier to lighten the mood now.
As far the other four at the table that night? Well, what goes around, comes around is all I have to say. Each of them have their own families now and so they had better watch out for fleeting kicks under the table. But, what am I talking about? Do they all gather around the table to eat in the evening? Or is their 'face-time' on the Internet and smart phones? Can't get a good swift kick to the shin in that way. Grandkids, call me and we'll figure something out.
© 2011 Carol Phares
Ours was a very nontraditional dinner-time. We ate with one another with no television running in the background for distraction. This, Dear Reader, is ancient history, not even cable or dish networks had been invented, much less the Internet, computers and cell phones. I don't know how families do it these days. Why, I was on that very popular social website (which I can't name because of the Terms of Service on Blogger, the hosting website for this blog. I am not allowed to say their name, or any product name, for that matter). Anyway, here I was reading all the posts by family and friends, when a new one from Son came through. It simply said, "Daughter, get downstairs, dinner is ready." Not 2 seconds later, Daughter posted, "But, Dad, I'm right in the middle of a school project." Her father's response? "Then how did you answer me here on this social network? Get off the computer and join us for supper."
But, I digress. I insisted that we gather around the table to eat together because I felt it was important to behave like a family, albeit an imperfect one, at least once a day. Most of the time, dinner was a happy time, but if Young Man had a bad day at the office, then things got VERY tense.
On those days, Young Man's garrulousness would dominate the conversation and all the kids and I could do was to eat and listen - quickly. Dinners were short. As were attention spans.
Younger Son and Younger Daughter could sometimes lighten the mood if they had the inclination to do so. One evening, Young Man was droning on about his boss, unfair tax laws, and I'm not sure what else. I was busy trying to keep the kids under control.
Younger Daughter developed a twitch. Not an eye twitch, not a facial tic, but a full-body twitch. Every few seconds she jerked to the right. I tried to give her the Evil Eye, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Younger Brother who sat across the table. Oh, my! He had a twitch, too!
That's when it happened. Something hit my shin with the force of a sledgehammer. My eyes crossed, my mouth pursed, trying not to explode, I shoved the table away to grab my shin, pushing it right into Young Man. He stopped mid-sentence. Everything and everyone went silent.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Younger Son was rid of his full-body twitch only to develop something much more sinister. His shoulders rolled forward, his cheeks filled with air, his face turned red and he dare not look at anyone.
Giggle. Younger Daughter was not as successful in stifling her inner laughter. Hand over her mouth to hold it all in, she peered at her father who was glaring at everyone.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Looking straight at her Dad, Older Daughter giggled. Which led to Older Son to crack a smile. My leg still hurt too much to laugh. But Younger Son's laughter couldn't be contained any longer. His rolling giggle came out of his belly unbidden and uncontrollable. This gave Younger Daughter permission to let go of her laughter. If she were in trouble, she knew she wasn't alone. I couldn't help but crack a smile myself, in spite of my shin.
Young Man was not amused. Younger Son and Younger Daughter tried to stifle their laughter once again. Older Son's cracked smile became a full-blown grin and then a great belly laugh erupted. Older Daughter decided she wouldn't contain it either.
Soon all four children and I were laughing. Young Man was beat! In the face of 5 people laughing at absolutely nothing, he could not resist. When we heard the first snicker, all of us became silent. Was that a smile? Dinner all but forgotten, laughter and smiles filled the room. It was the first time in a long time that Young Man let his hair down. He was all the better for it.
Nowadays, there's no stopping Old Man and his jokes and banters. Sometimes life still gets him down, as it does all of us, but it's so much easier to lighten the mood now.
As far the other four at the table that night? Well, what goes around, comes around is all I have to say. Each of them have their own families now and so they had better watch out for fleeting kicks under the table. But, what am I talking about? Do they all gather around the table to eat in the evening? Or is their 'face-time' on the Internet and smart phones? Can't get a good swift kick to the shin in that way. Grandkids, call me and we'll figure something out.
© 2011 Carol Phares
One of your best yet!!
ReplyDeleteSal
One son eats at the table with kid. Lol our whole downstairs is devoted to Grandma and dining room table.
ReplyDelete