Family Dinner: A Memoir of a Perfect Family
I woke up from the alarm I had set. I could hear the sound of the alarm spread throughout the whole room. I reached for my phone from the table next to my bed. It's 5:30 in the afternoon. I press the snooze button and put my phone back on the table. I throw my blankets over my head and fell asleep again.
I woke up again as I heard the crisp ring sound of the alarm echoes the entire room. I got up from my bed and walked to the bathroom. I turn on the faucet and splashed some water on my face. I reached for my towel and lightly dabbed the towel all over my face till I got rid of the excess water.
As I walked into the dining area, I saw that the dinner table was dressed nicely with linen placemats and napkins, like it became the setting for a family ritual. At the dinner table, I saw everyone was seated already. They've been waiting for me. I took my seat that is in between my little brother and my mom.
"Maymay, you may say grace," dad told me.
"Okay," I replied.
"Bless us, Lord...Thank you, Lord, for the food. Amen." I did the sign of the cross as I finished saying the last word.
"Bon Appétit!" dad announced joyously.
Mom served up her heartily made goulash soup that contains pork and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Each one received their bowl of goulash soup and started to take some rice or mash potatoes. Everyone then started to dig in their food as they finished filling up their plate.
"This is so delicious," dad said.
"It's really yummy," my little brother said with his mouth full.
"It's like a five-star entrée, served in a humble home," my big brother added.
As I took one bite of the food, I would say that mom's entrée was the best thing in the world. The pork just melts in the mouth and the sauce that perfectly wraps it was certainly the best. I could taste and feel the sweetness and acidity of the sauce as I took a bite piece by piece. The butter taste of the mashed potatoes even compliments the dish, adding a sensual hint of goodness that fits together with the sauce of the goulash soup.
As we were enjoying the food, dad opens up the conversation, asking how everyone was doing and how did our day goes.
My stepdad at the head of the dinner table was typically a serious man but became the genial storyteller for the evening. He would recount stories from his younger years, such as telling us how life was during World War II, how he started working by the age of 13, his business trips from different countries, etc. My mom, on the other hand, recount stories mostly from her younger years, on how life was like when they've got nothing much. Like how they walked a hundred miles to reach one destination, how they carried gallons of water for supply, and how they used firewood to cook their food.
My two brothers and I also shared stories mostly about school. My big brother told us about the updates of the band he joined, and him being elected as the school campus ministry club president. My little brother told us about the new friends he made at school, the activities they did in class, and him being elected as the class prince charming. I, on the other hand, shared the things we did in class, the scores I got from the quiz, and me, together with my friends, founded the very first Filipino Club in school.
I cannot even recall which specific conversions are we into, whether it was school, family plans, business trips, politics, or religions, but I know that we actually exchanged words and stories with each other.
I could see everyone's grinning faces, as we took a bite of mom's special and heartily made goulash soup, and as we exchange words or stories with one another. Everyone is over the moon right now.
I'm hoping that things will stay like this forever. A perfect picture of a family having a meal together. But such hope for having a wonderful family time will not last because everything has its limit and things do change as time goes by. This is reality, my reality. A reality that tells me that life isn't always a fairy tale with a happy ending.
After all, nothing in this world stays forever, good or bad.
"I chose to enjoy the moment and I chose to engrave it in my heart."
