Dinner time at our place can’t generally be defined by a single time (say, 6:00pm). A few nights a week, Jen and I both try to go to the gym, so she’ll climb as soon as I get home (or as soon as she picks me up at the bottom of the hill), I’ll hang out with the boy, feed him, and get him ready for bed, then I’ll head to the gym once she’s home and putting him to bed. I usually something at some point, and Jen will eat the rest of whatever that is (typically mac & cheese) when she gets home. Seb will “eat” (read sit in his high chair for an hour, eat some of food, and yell a lot) anytime between 6 and 7. Even on nights that we don’t climb, we don’t always eat together, simply because dinner for us isn’t ready by the time Seb is ready to eat.

But last night was one of those rare nights that we gathered around our dining room table to eat as a family. Seb sat happily in his high chair, eating a mish-mash of vegetables, pasta, and apple sauce. Jen and I happily munched pizza and greens and beans. We were, for a moment, the nuclear family. And it felt good, especially since Seb was actually eating his entire dinner and not complaining about it.

In other good news, Enrico’s cafe in the Strip will be opening on Saturdays starting April 11. The weekly trip for pizza, paninis and greens will begin again! I’m glad they decided to reopen the cafe — the new place in Shadyside is just too swanky to have the same cool chaotic feel as the Strip. Let the eating begin!

Posted on 23 March 2004