Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sunday Dinner

My dad maneuvered the car into place and before he could turn off the motor, my sisters and brother and I tumbled out the doors and ran to the back door, almost toppling one of our  uncles. "Whoa, there!" he laughed.

The succulent aroma of my grandma's fried chicken greeted us even before we opened the door. "Come on in, kids!" she greeted us. Still in her Sunday dress, she had a full, ruffled apron on to protect her clothes as she finished the preparations.

My mom and dad caught up to us, each carrying two pies my mom made the night before. I had helped her crimp the crusts and my seven year old fingerprints were embedded into the light brown edges.

My dad headed to the living room where my grandfather, uncles, and a few male cousins were already watching a Dallas Cowboys game. "Landry's got the best defensive line he's ever had, " my grandfather reminded them. The men took off their suit coats and loosened their ties.

"Yeah, but he's going to have a tough time beating Green Bay," my dad countered. Loud cheers from the TV drowned out the rest of their conversation.

While my mom and aunts helped in the kitchen with my grandma, a few of my cousins and I rounded up extra chairs from around the house to fit around the big kitchen table and the dining room table. At seven, I was the oldest of the bunch and relished my role of being the boss of them. They, who had barely started school, were astonished at my ability to count to 26, the number of chairs we needed for both tables.

My younger sister carefully placed napkins underneath each fork and one of my aunts ferried huge platters of food to the table. The Sunday clothes everyone was wearing warranted extra care around the food.

My mom was next in the delivery chain with a heaping bowl of steaming green beans, ones that had been growing in the garden just yesterday. One of my uncles walked through and tried to nab a piece of the thick golden cornbread my aunt was transporting. She slapped his hand lightly and kept going. We giggled at his mock hurt expression.

The intermingled scents of the food and the line dried freshness of the tablecloths and napkins danced a glorious two-step.

My brother and a baby cousin were tethered into high chairs while my grandmother poured the milk into the roux to make the gravy, the last dish. She stirred furiously and coaxed those lumps of flour, chicken drippings, and milk into a thick, creamy topping that my grandfather even liked to slather on his vegetables.

Finally, both tables were set and only a few portions of the flowery tablecloths were visible under the well laden platters of food that adorned them. Everyone gathered as my grandmother dried her hands on a dish towel and lifted her apron off over her head.

Without anyone even calling us to it, we knew to form a large circle and join hands. All heads bowed as my grandfather prayed the prayer he always prayed preceding a meal, "Lord, bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and our hands for Thy service. In Jesus's name, Amen."

We could all use a little Sunday dinner now and then.


44 comments:

  1. Reads like many gatherings I have been to in my younger days. Such good memories

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    1. Odie: I wish everyone could have Sunday dinners like these in their lives.

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  2. Amen to that, Shelly! Prayer was not a part of mealtime at my house but it was when we went to have dinner with my older brother and his family. My sister-in-law always administered the prayer and I very much appreciated that moment of devotion and thanksgiving.

    Your story reminds me of the meals I enjoyed at my aunt and uncle's farm. The families often gathered at their huge dining room table and feasted on down home cooking that often included chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn from their field and glasses of fresh cold milk provided by the family's cows.

    It's funny that you mentioned the men gathered around the TV set watching football. For decades I was an avid football fan, glued to the TV when games were on. However, I was the only member of my immediate family who cared about football or any other team sport. My dad and brother enjoyed the great outdoors and activities like hunting, fishing, hiking and camping (all things I disliked). They considered it a colossal waste of time to sit indoors watching football, baseball or basketball as I loved to do. My father often joked that I bore a striking resemblance to our milkman! (LOL)

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    1. Shady: Oh, all my male relatives were and still are rabid sports fans, especially the Cowboys. I have a couple of uncles who are coaches, and they love to talk about that. Interestingly, none of my male cousins played college sports, but a few of my female cousins went on to play college basketball. You never know how those things are going to play out!

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  3. As soon as I read about the fried chicken it reminded me of visiting my dad's Aunt Margaret in Utah as a child. She was a wonderful cook, and even though we were small and there were no other children there (usually a recipe for boredom) we always looked forward to her big welcoming hugs, and the abundant platter of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. Best I've ever had! And she always included the kids in the conversation - very important. Love Sunday dinners like that!

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    1. Karen: Sunday dinners are still a big deal for us for those very reasons. I look at some of my students who have none of that in their lives and I so wish I could bring them all to Sunday dinners with us.

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  4. Evokes wonderful memories here. Now, too often with just the two of us, Sunday dinner is at the local commecial eating establishment. But we just never get there before the Presbyterians!

    My younger kids often reminded their elder siblings that "You're not the boss of me." I loved that you used that expression.

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    1. vanilla: Our pastor still jokes that he tries to get us out before the Methodists! I still remind my siblings from time to time that I am and will always be the boss of them. :)

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  5. Ah, Shelly, the mirror image was happening in rural Minnesota:

    Come Lord Jesus, be our guest.
    Let these gifts to us be blessed.
    Amen.

    Pearl

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    1. Pearl: That's exactly what my mom would pray at our table at home! I think those were some of the first words I learned to say, actually~

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  6. I remember being part of a large family and enjoying meals as you've so wonderfully described. Most of my family is gone now, but your post has brought back some wonderful memories. Thanks.

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    1. Stephen: I think if I were ever able to relive one afternoon from my whole life, it would be from one of those dinners. I'm so glad you had them, too-

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  7. It's amazing how our souls and hearts were nourished in the same moment as our bellies....and we didn't really know until later the impact that would have on us. This was warming, like a lovely cup of tea on a rainy day.

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    1. Chantel: And as much as we need food for nourishment, we need those family times, too, to feed our souls. I think soul poverty is the saddest of all.

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  8. Shelly, thank you for sharing. Blessings.

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  9. Yep! Love Sunday dinner. We've missed them terribly over these months of quarantine, but hopefully soon I can enjoy my mom's roast and gravy again, followed by hours of lazy visiting. It's my favorite!

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    1. Nancy: I hope that quarantine period will end soon. I hadn't even realized it extended to family times. Gosh- that would be hard for me, too. We still do a big Sunday dinner at my parent's house, and it's a wonderful time. You will be enjoying yours again before too long! What fun that will be!

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  10. Now that my mouth is watering....You make us feel as though we are there either watching the game or setting the table or preparing the food!

    Right now, it always seems so hard to have a more special dinner on Sundays...we all eat together anyway for every meal, but I hope someday when my kids are grown, and have kids they all come home for "Sunday Dinner".

    thanks for the smile and good memory you gave to all of us!

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    1. Jamie: It kind of comes in cycles, I think, depending on age and geography. I know you will have some wonderful new ones when your kids get older and start coming back. We are just finding that out with our older daughter, and what joy it is!

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  11. Our big family dinners were at 1:00pm on Saturday after church service. I was raised a Seventh-Day-Adventist. Every Sabbath my grandmother would come over and sometimes guests from church. The meal was always wonderful. Those were happy times in our home too. Things like this make a house a home.

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    1. Belle: You are so right- the things that make a home come only from what families themselves bring, not furniture or possessions.

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  12. Such wonderful family memories there today my friend, and described in such detail that I could imagine myself being there with you all. Happy times indeed. It's so important to sit down as a family at mealtimes I think, especially on a Sunday. Sad to think that in the hurly burly of our modern world with shops being open 7 days a week, lots of people just don't do this any more. I really enjoyed this post.

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    1. Thisisme: It really is sad to think of the things we've lost in all of the rush and bustle of our modern world. I really think there are things we should reach into our past for and step back into, like Sunday family dinners.

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  13. That reminded me of the past and some meals we shared when we went to visit some relatives. Gosh we never do that any more - we have all moved apart. Your dinner sounded so nice.
    sandie

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    1. Sandie: It's such a wonderful blessing to have family close enough to do it regularly. I still love it~

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  14. So enjoyed reading this Shelly! I bet Sunday dinners were the highlight of everyone's week and everyone looked forward to being together, eating deliciously cooked food, but just the fellowship and love of a family!!

    betty

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    1. Betty: Food, fellowship, and family...what a terrific combination!

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  15. This was a wonderful read. I felt as thoug you had invited me to join you and I was right there enjoying all the delicious food and family. Our Sunday dinners had a spicier vibe but the spirit was the same. :) Family is everything.

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    1. Crystal: I think that's why too many kids go down wrong paths today, because they have no sense of family at all. Heartbreaking, really. Family is the bedrock for everything else.

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  16. It is always fun to dinner with family ;).
    Awesome post .

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    1. izdiher: Family dinners are just the best! Thank you, my friend~

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  17. Oh how I miss those Sunday dinners....family has moved far away, children now grown and on their own...doing what their wives family traditions, grands growing up, parents are to elderly, mom sickly .....but still each family members is alive and doing well and though I miss those family gatherings....I still have my family....

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    1. Rhonda: That's the best way to look at it- even if traditions change, you still have family.

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  18. I couldn't agree more! I feel like I am right there with you. I love, love Sunday dinners with my family.

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    1. Kelley: Aren't they the best? I love how they stretch across generations, too. What a great way to start the new week.

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  19. what a lovely picture i have in my mind! and what lovely memories too.
    thank you for your thoughts today. i am so very thankful you are my blogging friend.
    happy happy Friday!!!
    smile!

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  20. momto8: Thank you! And I am so very happy for your good news today~

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  21. Oh, Dearest Shelly.
    What a beautiful lovely memories of family dinner.
    The prayer your grandfather said "Lord, bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and our hands for Thy service. In Jesus's name, Amen." should not be the only concept for your culture and I think we tend to forget the appreciation we blessed!!!
    I can guess your are from the heartwarming, lovely family♡♡♡
    Night, Night from Japan xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Orchid: I agree with you complete, my dear friend Miyako- we all have so many blessings and we should always take time to remember and appreciate those. Family means so much!

      Have a sweet, restful sleep!

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  22. Dear Shelly, . . . what a touching and lovely posting. It brought back to me the memories of Sunday dinners with my mom and dad and brother so many years ago--back in the nineteen forties and early fifties. And it also made me hungry for mom's gravy, made just as you describe your grandmother making hers. Thank you for sharing this memory from when you were seven. Peace.

    PS: I’ll be absent from the blogging world during the month of April. However, I’m going to schedule reposts of stories I posted last May and June when I had only a few readers. If you have time, please stop by my blog every Tuesday and Saturday in April. I’d appreciate comments because they will help me decide just what topics to cover in the memoir on which I’m working.

    I regret already that I’ll be missing all your April postings. If you have several you’d like me to read when I begin again in May, please go to my blog and mention the postings that are particularly important to you.

    I’ll start reading again on Tuesday, May 1. See you then!

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    1. Dee: Sunday dinners are something we should all have in our emotional banks. There's nothing to compare with them, nothing that could do the good they do. I wish everyone could have them, like writing a prescription for them. Ohh, that gravy was good, wasn't it?

      We will miss you, but look forward to your return~

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  23. I think one of the things I missed the most was reading my favorite blogs! Yours is a very special one and I'm so happy to be back and commenting. Sunday dinners bring to a family sustenance greater than any meal!
    Hugs~

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    1. Sush: It is SO glad to have you back! Blogland hasn't been the same without you. Thank you for your kind words!

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