Summer Suppertime

The smell of sweet grass, the creak of the swingset, the drops of water on the deck, the open screen door, it's all part of a night in summer at the VanDeWalker dinner table. For as long as I can remember, Saturdays, under the warm sun, have been reserved for the family. All of us kids can argue all we want, but when it comes to fish on the grill, we are sitting at that table every Saturday night. It's a ritual. Even though it all seems set in time, when we eat, where we eat, what we eat, we are hardly ever doing the same thing twice. Some nights my little brothers are creating a flood with all the water they have splashed out of the pool, but other nights, they are the ones setting the table. Either my mom is sprinting to get the marinade for the fish, or she is retuning home from sports practice. The rushing and headaches don't subside until we are all sitting in our places at the stone table on the terraced patio. And even then, summer suppertime isn't about controlling the chaos; it's a time when our parents make sure we don't harm ourselves with laughter.

While most families' suppers are a quiet event with talk about the day, we hardly ever go a meal with out someone being thrown in the pool. My parents make sure we never eat what is normal. Hotdogs and hamburgers are known as the perfect Saturday cook out meal, but our feasts consist of oysters and horseradish, halibut or clams, beets and goat cheese, and scallops. Family gathering time gives a way for all of us to keep up in each other's lives and share the stories of the day. Even though we all seem quite out of control at times, we know when to settle down. We know when it's time to be reverent for the prayer; we know when it's time to listen; and we know very well when it is time to howl with laughter. Whether it's mustard on someone's nose or the grill catching on fire, a giggle will always be present. After everyone has eaten their fill of the sea, we all work like a well-oiled machine to tidy up before the "midnight water polo game". Everyone takes in their own plate, someone scrubs the table, and even though we all like to think everyone is helping, we all know Max, the youngest, is floating in the pool.

For the VanDeWalker family in the summer, suppertime is about as crazy as it can get; however, it's also the most sane time of our day. Without the Saturday meal, we wouldn't be apart of each other's lives. Our family uses this time to partake in the life of the person next to them, if only for a few, short seconds. We try to be mature and sophisticated at dinner, but it never works because one thing is for certain, we wouldn't be the Van De Walkers if we didn't throw formality to the wind and just enjoy our chaotic and laughable summer suppers.