A BOWL OF LOVE AND BOND

Almost every memory that I have of us(my family) eating shows that it was mostly together, be it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was maybe, with lunch, that, only a few times, we ate separately for certain reasons.

You know, we grew up in a small space, in each other's faces, and I think of us as a large family. There's eight of us(my parents and my siblings), but that is not all. For every moment I can think of, there was always a relative or a friend to my siblings around. So, let's say there were always two other people at home.

Now imagine making a pot of soup and having to share it individually for everyone(except my parents, of course, cause they do literally everything together). Do you think that the pot of soup would go beyond two days? Of course, that's unlikely. We make meals like every other family, and because we're a middle-class family, it's almost impossible that we could do well with that pattern.

So, at my house, we ate together. For other lighter meals, like say, rice, beans, etc, we could do it separately. But when it comes to eating soup or taking pap and fries, mostly, it was done together.

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It is a beautiful practice, one that I have come to cherish and appreciate very much. As a family, it is one of the things that helped us bond. You know, eating and trading tales, banting, and/or seeing one of many movies we love or one of the many interesting soap operas like Superstory that we enjoyed.

When I was younger, I ate with my parents most of the time. My siblings, plus whichever relative or family friend that was with us, ate together. My mum would share the food for them in a way that two persons shared a plate(sometimes, three). None of us ever complained. Food eaten that way tasted better. It always felt like we were eating from a bowl of love, which strengthened our bond. I could not eat with my brothers cause I couldn't keep up with their pace. Of course, they would always leave some for me before the meal runs out(well, except this my sibling who could eat a house... not literally). We would joke and tell him that he would make a father who would eat his children's food and not mind if they were hungry, saying that 'na papa wey don chop de provide."

I've said it on here so many times that we are a close-knit family, and that bond, in a number of ways, was formed by us eating together. To this day, we still eat together. And I don't see it ending anytime soon. You know why? I think it's an inherent practice. Something that has been passed down from our parents and their parents.

My dad and his siblings rarely ever eat separately. Whenever we were home for the holidays, they ate from the same plate(breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Their food is always served in this very large bowl that you would be terrified if they could finish the meal. It wasn't about the food. It's the bond, the love. It was how they caught up, and it didn't matter if they just had a heated argument, food was served in one bowl, and they all ate from it, gisting or watching the TV.
It just happens that whichever wife makes a meal, she serves it for her husband and his siblings(my dad, his brothers, and his sister). Even when anyone visits the other at his home, they are served together. The same happens in my mum's home.

And it rubbed off on us the children too. All of us(my cousins, siblings, and i) always ate rogether whenever we were together. Nobody ever asked if we wanted it separately. They just put it altogether. We looked out for one another. I want you to take a minute to imagine us(more than twenty of us) eating from a tray(trays, sometimes but never separately). It's even funny and sweet cayse now that we can choose to not want to eat together, we're pushibg to not eat separately, hence you may hear things like, "no share the food o, put am for one plate" or, "put for me and xyz abeg." Can you imagine how heartwarming that is? Nothing, absolutely nothing beats the moment.

Growing up, we had our meals in the same place. But it wasn't a problem if anyone wanted to have theirs at some place else. It was okay. Time of eating too depended on the people eating. However, a lot of times, it was in the same place and around the same time.

One thing I know for certain is that, whether or not we ate/eat together, it would not have scarred our bond even one bit. Yet, I am grateful for this avenue to draw even closer and enjoy every moment with my family.

Thanks for gracing this post.
Greetings!