celebrate having each other

Sometimes when I talk to people about eating as a family they become defensive. I think too often as moms or as women we have a tendency to listen to others talk about their family habits and measure ourselves against that standard. Other times I think we often measure ourselves against terms such as “the conventional family” or “traditional roles” you know … the political yibber yabber that tries to turn how we live day-to-day into a hot-button campaign issue. Eating together is nothing more than the celebration of having each other. It’s not complicated. And it doesn’t require any specific person in your life. A family meal is newlyweds sitting down together. A family meal is everybody home from college. Good grief, a family meal for me when I was IN college was each of the four of us making something off of “our own shelf” and sitting together in front of Cheers and L.A. Law on a Thursday night.

So, while I was going to celebrate the fact that two can be family, too, this month, I think there’s enough emphasis on pairing off this time of year. Instead, I think I’m going to look at “non-traditional families.” No. No. No. Not the political yibber yabber kind. The kind that’s the same gang of guys gathering annually for the Super Bowl. The kind that’s the high school cheer squad at Starbucks every day from 2:30 to 3:15. The kind that’s cooking just for two. The kind that’s a Lion’s Club frying fish.

We come together to eat. We don’t even think twice about it. Let’s celebrate!