Tammi's World

Family Day

Today is Family Day. Now, let me just be clear about something - in my opinion EVERY DAY should be family. Period. End of discussion.

But today is the day to really celebrate the ideal of family.

And let me tell you - I come from one big ole family. Mama comes from a large Amish family. Thirteen children all together. By the time we grandkids were big enough to know what was going on, most of them were married so that makes for 24 to 26 adults and, well, a boat load of kids.

Up until Grandma couldn't handle it anymore, we always got together at their house. Down in the basement they'd line up tables from one end to the other. EVERYONE sat together. No "little" table for us.

And the food. Holy cow, the food. All of it made from scratch. Loaves and loaves of bread. Fresh from the oven that morning. We usually all started arriving pretty early in the morning so Grandma would have donuts made for us and waiting. Hot, fresh, glazed donuts. Oh, excuse me - got lost in the memory for a moment there.

The meal usually started with Oyster Stew (not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination). There would be fried chicken and ham. Sometimes, if we had "guests" grandma would make a turkey too - just so we wouldn't run out of food. Noodles, homemade, mounds of mashed potatos, gravey, the sweetest corn you've ever tasted. So many different salads it would boggle the mind. Beans, creamed peas. And the the dessert. ALWAYS there was ice cream. Sweet vanilla ice cream. Grandma's raspberry freezer jam was the perfect topping. But wait - there's more. Pie, peanut butter, cherry, apple, chocolate. And usually some kind of cake or bread pudding.

And then - you didn't think I was done, did you? - there were the "after dinner" snacks. You could eat all day and never ever find the bottom of a plate.

But the best part are the traditions. We are a Christian family - faith is very important to us. So we would stand around the table and sing a hymn or two. Then either Grandpa or one of my Uncles (who happen to be pastors) would say a prayer. THEN and only then would we sit.

The conversations were electrifying. Stories from days gone by, mixed with stories from we children. Everyone talked, everyone was engaged. And laughter? Yeah, lots and lots of laughter.

After dinner we would sit and sing. We're a very musical family - one of my Aunts was a professional gospel singer - and for us, the MUSIC was the dessert.

Honest injun, I thought everyone did that. You should have seen me the first time I went someone else's "family" meal. I was very confused.

But to this day - even though now our numbers have grown, and shrunk, we still cook together, sing together, pray together and eat together.

Because we're a family. And that's what our family does.

Posted by Tammi at September 25, 2006 05:10 AM | TrackBack