As I was doing the dinner dishes tonight, Gavin comes up behind me, gives me a bear hug and hops up onto the counter next to me to chat a while. He informs me, "Mom, I wish every night could be like tonight." I was a little clueless as to why tonight rated up there in his top 5 favorites. I decided to recite the evening back to him in question form.
"Why? Do you wish you could throw up at the table every night?" We all seemingly had a case of the giggles - but especially Gavin. And to top it off, he was drinking orange soda with his dinner. The giggles hit and whatever was in his mouth came out in full force.
"Or was it the gooey rice I made...you wish we could have that for dinner every night. Is that it?" Yup. My culinary skills are shining once again. I decided I knew enough about making rice that I didn't need to actually measure the water to rice ratio. I guessed wrong. But I now know how to make rice pudding.
"Was it watching Daddy eat a 'Plate-O-Meat'? Would you like to see that every night?" Since the rice was a wash and I didn't have enough leftover mashed potatoes for everyone, poor Daddy ended up with a 'plate-o-meat'. He had grilled chicken and ended up with a huge mass of meat on his plate while the vegetables were sitting in a nearby bowl (he hates his food to touch). He looked like some Medival King sitting down to eat his prey.
Of course, Gavin is laughing so hard at this point, I'm afraid he's going to fall off the counter. Yet, I continue. "Was it because it is the middle of January, in the dead of winter and we were out playing in the park in shorts and sandals?" That's Texas for ya. It was in the mid-80's today. Not that I'm complaining...I just find that a bit odd. Don't you?
Gavin decided he'd had enough and let me in on the mystery of why this was such a perfect night, "Mom, it was just fun. That's all." I have to agree, Gavin. It was fun. One thing is a constant in our house and that is dinner time. We ALWAYS sit at the table to eat together and you NEVER know what to expect. Thankfully, tonight, the laughter was louder than the whining.
