My Way of Living + Time

Making a family memory
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When I was growing up we used to have large family gatherings friends, and family for Sunday dinners almost every weekend. All the good china, and the silver came out, and none of it could go into the dishwasher. DID YOU HAVE BIG FAMILY DINNERS WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG? And did you enjoy them? When I was young it was great, we were kids and anything different from the norm was exciting, and we didn’t seem to mind all the dishwashing. We were making a family memory. But as I grew into a teenager seeking personal solitude, and privacy those dinners became torturous. Nosy guests commenting on my height, my lack of curves, did I have a boyfriend, [what did they think, first they tell me I’m too tall, then too skinny, LOL.] The prying questions in what felt like such a public setting, groups of adults all peering at me, was not what this shy, sensitive girl needed. They were making a memory, and it wasn’t good, not to mention all the dirty dishes.

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I started to detest those dinners, and was more then glad to have them behind me once I reached a adult age, and moved out, it was to be my choice if I attended or not.

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After my family moved up country and I was all alone on the coast, the family dinners were few and far between. For years I longed to have impromptu family dinners, I missed them. As part of a married couple we had lots of dinner parties with friends, but it was the family ones that I missed the most. Odd how you can miss something that you didn’t like but I did.

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Now that we are all up here together in the North Okanagan we are trying to create the good parts of those dinners, nostalgic haze glossing the bad memories into a burnished glow. No more awkward questions, no more good china, and heirloom silver, just good food, good memories, and not too many dishes. We are making a family memory, one that everyone can enjoy.

Day, family, food, and more:

Making a family memory + Time