There is one obstacle of every holiday, birthday, reunion, get together, or other significant even that everyone tends to revolve around. Either to avoid or actively prepare for, this component is so essential that it would seem as if the universe itself was working towards its perfect or disastrous outcome. There is no way around it, this looming barrier that has the power to drastically alter an evening. It is stress inducing. It is heart warming. It is the ever trying yet usually fulfilling occasion of family dinner.
It's as if Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama themselves are coming to the table with the amount of perfectionism that fills the air. Hours are devoted to appetizers, the main course, and a tray of desserts. Who sits where? Who likes what dish best? least? To have a meal go off without a hitch is the desired, almost demanded outcome for those who still crave the intimacy of the half hour in which this eating takes place. A fading staple of society, as many say, that must be protected before the future generations forget what it means to eat together entirely.
Of course, with the rush to familial dining, there are the accompanying dramatics that create the underlying tension that many face on achieving such an event. Using the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving for example, there seems to be an endless list of issues that create arguments between cook and guest, mother and daughter, or brother and sister. Currently, an argument sparks over the idea of a friend coming to dinner that is supposedly meant for family. Tomorrow, another will begin about not buying enough food and the proper amounts one should eat when attending another's feast. Come Thursday, the passive aggressive comments will be in full effect and the peace will be maintained on treacherously thin ice. Heaven forbid anyone who should bring up the election.
Dinner isn't all bad, though. There is the rare moment of coming together and the idea of good food to entice those of us who enjoy a proper meal. New achievements will be discussed, a sense of familial pride will blossom eventually, spreading out from under the piles of pettiness that have caused any preexisting tension. It may take til the last person has finished their dessert, but there will be a moment in which every guest is properly satisfied and content to move into gentler, more affectionate discussion. Nostalgia, warmth, and a unique camaraderie takes over from the pre-dinner nerves, irritation, and drama.
It's comical, this idea of so many people being so worked up simply for the satisfaction of a meal well prepared that will be gone in a few minutes time. How odd it is to consider that so many devote hours upon hours for a brief moment of calm in the rushing, endless ways of modern society. It is, perhaps, one of the few things that show the emotional component of humanity that is often lost in the drive for success we all find ourselves caught up in.
Whatever it is perceived as, family dinner will always be an anomaly of heightened feeling. An event that is both momentous and simple. A landmark of the foundation of kinship that has been carefully preserved by generations. A show full of dramatics that leaves one on the edge of their seat, anxiously waiting for the next argument to break out or the next unforgettable memory to be created.
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