We all live in a fast-paced world where families barely have the chance to sit down and share a meal together. My family used to be like that when I was still a student and my father was still working.
My father was so busy that he was rarely home, and I was mostly in school, so I seldom had the chance to eat with them. There was also a time when I lived away from home during my university days. So, I only went home on weekends or when it was not that busy.
However, it all changed when I started working from home around 10 years ago. My father opted to retire early and just opened a small store next to our house. So, we now have meals together.
Even though I now work from home, I spend the majority of my time in my room. I even work on the weekends at times, so despite seeing my parents every day, we don't get to bond... so having meals together is the perfect time to do that.
Whenever I take a day off, I help my mom prepare our meals. When there's a special occasion, we mostly prepare the food together.
My father would grill some meat, and we enjoyed singing karaoke at home with just the three of us and our precious furbabies.
My female bestie, who's like a sister to me and a family to us, also shares a meal with us whenever she comes home to the Philippines.
My male bestie and his family also share a meal with us on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, or just random days when our schedules align.
We don't eat out that much, but we actually don't have to. My mom is a great cook after all! hahah Preparing the meals we have together at home makes it more special. Even my friends help out or bring some food over for everyone to share.
We haven't visited my grandma for quite a while now because the fare and accommodation fees are expensive, and we need a huge budget to go as a family. But when we do, sharing meals together is on top of our list.
We take grandma out for a walk in the morning, and have some breakfast in a cafe... then, we eat out with my cousins and grandma afterwards. We do the same for dinner.
Preparing the meals and sharing them with my favorite people is truly among the best things in the world. Regardless of the occasion, being with them is always enjoyable. We can catch up with our day-to-day life. Listening to their stories over food is really fun.
Of course, it's not only the happy and light things we could discuss over meals. We can even talk about our problems or worries. Somehow, doing them over food makes it feel lighter.
So yeah, meals are more than just the food... It's about the time, effort and memories we share together with it.
I'll end my post here. Thanks for reading, and see you around! (^^,)/
