I have fond memories of the family together at the dinner table and have wanted for all of us to sit down together. So this week, on a reorganizing, refocusing bender, I planned the weekly menu with this in mind. Each night I've thrown grown-up dinner together the instant I arrived home and for the most part, it's timed out well. The drawback, of course, is that this means the girls are subjected to grown-up dinner.
The memory is a delightful thing, the way it blocks the icky and enhances the warm and fuzzy. I have hardly-accessible memories of fighting with my parents over what I would or would not be eating. Mostly I recall the evenings laughing with (or at) my brothers and watching my dad spin his wedding ring on the table while my mom said "Edward, cut that out." It plays better inside my head, but you get my drift. In the here and now there is just pre-dinner weeping "I don't want to eat that! I don't like it!" and me, gritting my teeth and saying "you've never had that, you don't know if you like it!" and then the main course of pouting, shoving plates away and refusing to sample the food despite all manner of threats or promises.
Tonight was the ugliest yet, with neither girl willing to take a single bite of the pan-fried scallops and crispy leeks (for the record, they were delicious). And so, they were both sent to bed without supper. OH the wailing! There was screaming and weeping and Kate, repeatedly, pathetically saying "I'm hunnngry" while we repeatedly replied "yes, that's what happens when you don't eat any dinner." Ah, dinner with the family. I love that we're making such happy memories over here.
10 comments:
Is that Sarah crying on the toilet? That's both mean and hilarious.
Hang in there! We follow that program and our boys rarely miss dinner anymore (unless they're sent away for completely blowing off their manners and then we're too riled up to feel guilt). "There's always breakfast," comes up now and then but, faced with ten or twelve hours between this meal and that one, the boys usually suck it up and have dinner.
The girls woke up sweet as could be this morning. Kate said "I'm really hungry this morning for some reason". I guess they were just drunk last night.
@Sonya - yes, Sarah is crying on the toilet. I thought about linking this post at WME, especially since, after we put them to bed, we went downstairs and ate some of their Halloween candy.
Karen is right. Don't forget, they are used to getting something for dinner which they have often chosen. This is a whole new ballgame and it will take time for it to become a GOOD thing, but it will.
I did think it was funny that you remember the ring thing!
I really wish we had video. Lisa laughing and chasing Kate with the camera while she is FREAKING OUT. The thing is, I caught a glimpse of Kate tearing past me and she gave me a very quick, slight little smile. Oh, the games.
This is so familiar! Family dinners seem to be so essential...yet so impossible...in so many ways! I swear all my little one is going to eat are cheese sandwiches and chocolate bunnies for the rest of her life! I'm so glad I found you! I'm working with your good friend Tree right now!
@Wendy - awesome! Every Lisa needs a Wendy. :)
when they're hungry they'll eat. we used to have no thank you helpings. but we all had the same meal.
p.s. can i come over for dinner?
Poor Zane...he never even had the grace period of the kid dinner. Since turning the big OH-1 last December, he has been served "grown up" dinner every day.
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