My Favorite Memories Of My Family

No matter how busy or hectic the day, the final meal is not optional. Just like David and Reuven Malter, we use it to catch up on the day’s events and to look ahead for the rest of the week. Fast food or takeout never suffices; my dad cooks each and every night. My family and I never stop talking, often ignoring all other responsibilities and commitments. I worked at a grocery store and closed up for the night several times a week, but dinner would wait to begin until I pulled into the driveway, no matter how late. Compared to my house, Abby’s mimics an abandoned ghost town. Weeks would pass without all of the Darmofal clan sitting together. We took dinners at each other’s houses as learning experiments: at mine, Abby would learn why sometimes, family dinner became too much for every night, with my parents’ incessant questioning. At her house, I learned the magic of microwavable meals and becoming self-sufficient, a skill I call upon most days here at USD. Everyone needs to eat, so why not use it as a learning experience?

I never really knew my grandpa as well as I would have liked. He was already an old, old man by the time I started high school, and my own memories of him are mostly of a man confined by age and ailing health. So I'm not really going to talk about my memories of him. Instead, I'm going to try to share his memories and the memories of those that knew him.

“Boys, dinner!” Ma yells. We all bound to the dining room, having barely eaten anything all day. We see the same dinner we have every night, lentil soup, but it never gets old. I guess when we’re this hungry anything tastes good. We say grace and dig in, although we are still a little sad because of Pa’s death. After dinner, we all gather around the radio and listen to the latest news. Then we hit the hay after a long day, ready to do the same thing

The smell of fresh herbs filled the air around her as the sun shone down on her back, a sense of tranquility fell upon her in the lush, backyard garden. A soft tune could be heard from inside the house where the radio played. Tante Lou hummed along to the music while she snipped off sprigs of parsley to use in the meal she is preparing for her nephew, Grant, and his guest. Today was a special day. It’s the first time Tante Lou is meeting her nephew’s girlfriend, Vivian, and she wants to make a wonderful dinner for them all to enjoy while getting to know each other.

My grandma Paula finally said what seemed like an eternity “Dinners done,” we all ran into the kitchen, and got our plates and chowed down.

I remember the day so vividly. My sister and I were watching Teletubbies, when we heard our parents fighting. Screams, and shouts. Bangs and thumps. This was no new discovery though. My sister glanced at me, and saw that I was scared, scared that our family would split apart. She took my hand and held it tightly; she nodded her head giving me self-assurance, as I slowly wiped a tear drifting down my face. I jumped into bed, knowing that the next day might be the worst day possible, but I pulled the sheets over my head, and filled my brain with unicorns, rainbows, teddy bears, and hearts, all happy thoughts. I stayed in bed for the next hour, knowing that my presence would cause more problems to occur. My mom came to the room later that day, and noticed that I was sleeping, so she walked out.

One of my favorite memories would be going to hawaii. I went last year after my birthday. All of my family went. My dad, step mom,sister,step sister,step brother,all four cousins, and all four aunts and uncles went with us. We stayed in hawaii on kona island I think. We stayed in a little condo with just me my dad,step mom,sister,step sister, and step brother. The first day we just walked around the town checking out our surrounding area. The second day we went to the beach and stayed there for about 4 hours. Later that day we continued too just walk around fir a little bit. A couple days and many long drives later, we ended up at black sand beach. There were turltles everywhere.. Then we later went too two step beach where there are a lot of dolphins. I was close enough too them too be able too reach out and touch them. I mean, i didn't touch them because they were wild dolphins and there was like 40 of them, but i could've. Instead i decided too just swim down about 10-20 feet below the surface and get underneath one of the dolphins. It worked. I couldn't breathe, but it worked.

In middle school, the relationship I had with my grandfather was one which was unbreakable. Even though he did not live in the same state, and I had both of my parents in the home he was always there for me. We place bets with each other over sporting events, like the World Series or the NBA Final, and the loser had to pay up whenever we were together again. Because I lived in North Carolina and he lived in upstate New York, we only saw each other once or twice a year, but he made we had together the most enjoyable. When my family would make the trip to New York I could not wait to see him because we talked about the various thing we were going to do when we were finally together, things like going to restaurants, going to amusment parks, and going to the mall. As a young child, these were all things you love to do, and he would make these events family outings, so all my cousins who were around the same age would come as well. This brought our family very close. While he was alive I was played every sport, and excelled in most of them. I enjoyed golf in particular because it was a sport my grandfather never really played, making him fascinated in every aspect of the sport. Although I was a superb athlete, I was good student as well. I made honor every year and that was what made him the proudest. Of all his grandchildren, there were only a few of us who excelled in school, and he incentivized us to keep up the good work by giving us money. Needless to say, there was not a

How many of you that have a celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas. Have you ever want your friend and your family to come over and celebrate with you? How many of you that is dating someone and you want your date to try one of the dishes from your culture. Many of you might know how to cook well and freak out when it’s come to fix a dinner table. In my next 5 minutes, after my demonstration, I hope you are going to feel comfortable by inviting anyone to come over for special dinner.

Every Sunday for as long as I can remember we had Sunday dinner at 1 o’clock at Grandma Opal’s house where she could out cook anyone. She had the best meals and desserts of anyone I knew. We could always smell something cooking from grandma’s kitchen as soon as we stepped outside our car. Yet, no matter how quickly we were to sneak a cookie, Grandma would always be the first taste tester. Everything she cooked she tried to tell us kids that it was “blinky” and we shouldn’t eat it, but that was only her way of trying to trick us. Until Grandma Opal passed away at the age of 94 she was still cooking something delicious.

Ever since I was a child, my grandpa has always been my favorite relative. He taught me countless tricks in life, like how to tie my shoes and pee in the woods, yes I said pee in the woods, and has always showed me how important it is to have fun. He used to ride around with me on his motorcycle as I clung to him holding on for dear life but still looking out at the amazing view that surrounded us. The highlights of his motorcycle rides however, were

Hosting this dinner I’ve chosen to invite the important people in my life , the reason I chose to invite the most important people is because I don’t have to many people in my life that are that important to me anymore . With that being said the important people I chose to invite were my little sister Naya , my friend Lauren , My other sister Asia , my little brother Tae , and my big sis N’dea. While making this dinner I chose to hand picked out all of the important people in my life that make me feel loved, and have been there when times were tough. All these people have been there when I needed someone to lean on and when they have needed me.

My grandfather and I didn’t see each other on the daily basis because we use to live eight hours away from each other. Yet, when my grandfather would visit me from time to time and I would be the most joyful teenager in the world. My grandfather and I would have endless talks about soccer but they wouldn’t last forever. Suddenly, my parents informed me that we would be moving to Houston. I was amazed with the extraordinary news because I would

For many people, Grandpa is a storyteller, someone to go fishing with, and someone who has your back no matter what. The experience I had with my grandpa was a little different. I never got the opportunity to meet my great-grandfather Liston Grider, but he still somehow managed to have a huge impact on my life. Sometimes my mom would tell stories about him; happy memories from her childhood, sad ones that were painful for her to tell, and everything in between. I thought I had heard it all, but this past summer I learned something about my great grandpa that would perhaps impact my life forever. This story was not told by my mom like usual, but by someone who was a complete stranger to me. The lessons I learned would not be taught in a single day, but over the span of a month through a series of Facebook messages and letters in the mail. The words I read upon opening those messages and letters would change my life forever, permanently transform my beliefs, and show me what it truly means to be an American.

There are certain memories that we have that we can remember like they happened yesterday. Many of those memories that have special meaning to me were of family vacations when I was young growing up with my brothers and sisters. Family memories are important to many of us because they take us back to a time or place that was special. One particular family vacation I remember vividly, and it’s a story I have shared with my kids on many occasions. Over the 40 or more years since that memorable vacation, I still smile and think how lucky I was growing up with a mother and father that did everything to give their kids an unforgettable memory.