Way back at home, when we were younger and growing up, we had the culture of eating together—not at a standard dining table but the type where the food would be placed on the floor while all of us picked our benches and sat around the food in a circle and fed from there. If Mom or Dad was eating with us, then nobody dared to pick meat while eating. We'd all eat without touching meat or fish, and at the end, the oldest one would share the meat while we picked according to seniority. Of course, the youngest one picked the smallest because, by then, the bigger shares had been collected by the eldest ones.
OMG! Writing about this puts plenty of smiles on my face.
During such food times, we did not observe the table manner of "no talking." In fact, that was the moment when talks and irrelevant topics started popping out from all angles, especially the ones that made people laugh and get choked with pepper reaching their nose. Lol.
The only thing my dad frowned at was the use of phones while eating. Oh my! My dad detested that so much that he would get angered and moved to pick up the phone and smash it on the ground. So whenever we were eating with him, we dared not use our phones. We only used phones when eating with siblings.
At a time, my sisters began to hate my presence whenever we were eating, especially on the days we cooked rice. Do you know why? I always saw faults in their rice, especially when it had excess pepper, and I used to trash their bad cooking skills a lot. So whenever it was rice time, they preferred to serve mine differently, but I would still refuse and go eat with them—because it's the criticism that made the food more interesting.
That's the family lifestyle I grew up with, and it bonded us together a lot.
I have been away from home for a very long time. I only visit during some of the holidays (year-end), and each time I visit, I don’t fancy the habit of eating alone as I have been practicing at my base. I always want to eat with anyone available to feel the good old days again, since I don’t get the opportunity often. These days at home, the eating culture is still practiced. Whenever food is ready, everyone available still meets with their chairs around the food and eats.
The last time I visited, I made sure I experienced that again, and it was during the festive season where food and eating were the order of the day. We ate in groups everywhere—both in the local kitchen, the parlour, on the bed, and outside in the compound. Like, we ate anywhere there was food, and that’s a whole load of joy.
Thanks for reading.
*This is my entry to Week 177, Edition 01 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community*
Image used is mine
