Food, Family, Fun!

The sound of children, laughing and playing, can be heard on a beautiful summer's day. The adults sit around a table on the deck, drinking, smoking, and playing cards. Occasionally heard is someone shouting "You're Cheating", or "Bullshit", or maybe even something much more vulgar when they are losing significantly. The smell of the grill permeates the air with the tantalizing aromas of highly anticipated food. This is the scene of a traditional summer cookout at my mother's house, which takes place almost every weekend from mid June through the end of August.

During a summer cookout my family has all of the "traditional" foods. Always up for grabs, in the form of grilled food, will be hot dogs, cheeseburgers, chicken breast, and maybe even some steak. Side items always include potato salad, chips with dip, baked beans, corn on the cob, and deviled eggs. For dessert we have our choice of watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberry shortcake, and ice cream. Once the food is ready everyone grabs what they want to eat and finds a place to sit. There is never enough chairs for everyone so the children get to eat out on the lawn in picnic style. Over dinner we enjoy the time "shooting the shit", just talking, laughing, and enjoying our time together.

Food is always the center of my family's traditional summer get together. As my mom says "If you feed them, they will come." When I think of traditions in my family related to food the summer cookouts come to mind. I don't so much think of thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years, though my family celebrates those too. Our family cookout is what it means to go home. I feel a deep sense of peace during these gatherings. Summer is upon us once again, I will be going home.