Incomplete meals

(Baonghean) - Family meals symbolize togetherness and happiness. However, in reality, not every family meal includes all its members. In today's hectic and busy modern life, "incomplete" meals seem to be becoming more and more common!

A meal shared by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lien and her five orphaned grandchildren in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh City. Photo: NK

For the past few years, meals at the home of Mr. Cao Van Khoa and Mrs. Truong Thi Tam in Hamlet 1, Nam Anh Commune, Nam Dan District, have consisted only of the two elderly couple. Whenever the weather changes or they become ill, their daily meals seem more difficult to swallow than ever before.

But recently, the couple's daily meals seem tastier since their youngest son, Cao Van Quang, graduated with honors from Ton Duc Thang Vocational College in Ho Chi Minh City and received a scholarship from Japan to work there. Mrs. Tam shared: "The meals are simple, but both of us find them delicious. We have to try to eat, firstly to maintain our health so our son can work abroad with peace of mind, and secondly, to wait for him to come home, get married, and have grandchildren..."

In the home of 58-year-old Vi Thi Huong in Thanh Son commune, Thanh Chuong district, family meals are eaten in a somber atmosphere. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has taken away her only son, and her daughter-in-law, heartbroken, has left, only returning once or twice a year. Her meager meal with her 6-year-old grandson consists only of sticky rice with dipping sauce and a little bitter bamboo shoot.

Mrs. Tran Thi Ly, residing in Hamlet 10A, Bao Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh District), is preparing meals for her grandchildren.

Family meals are precious, but if we don't cherish them, that preciousness can turn into sadness. Now, Phuong (from Vinh City) is more aware of the value of family meals than ever before. For over two months, Hung, Phuong's husband, hasn't come home… If only she hadn't had that spoiled city girl attitude, looking down on him as a "country bumpkin"; if only she hadn't looked down on him for earning less money than others, if only she hadn't spoken disrespectfully to him. If only she had been a good daughter-in-law to her parents-in-law, if only she had maintained her love for him as before… then Phuong wouldn't have to endure these bitter, monotonous meals filled with resentment now.

“Old people live for their children and grandchildren. Eating alone is quite lonely, but eventually, you get used to it,” said 66-year-old Tran Thi Xoan from Hamlet 14, Nghi Kim Commune, forcing a smile. Her husband passed away long ago, and she has been raising three children on her own. The two eldest work as laborers in the South, and her youngest daughter is a factory worker in the area. Every day, she stays home to look after her grandchildren; her daughter works overtime, leaving in the morning and returning late at night. At home, the two of them struggle to make ends meet with the meager wages of a factory worker. After cooking porridge, feeding her grandchild, and putting her to sleep, Mrs. Xoan quietly prepares her own daily meal.

A simple midday meal for a freelance worker.

For freelance workers, the daily lunch break at city intersections carries a different meaning. Ms. Nguyet's (from Nghi An commune) meal is packed in a small lunchbox, consisting of rice, vegetables, a piece of salted fish, and no soup. Ms. Nguyet's day begins at 5 a.m. with cooking for herself and her family, then cycling until late at night, arriving home after her children have already eaten. "I also long for a hot meal with everyone present, but I have no choice. It's all for my children's clothes and books, and for them to have a meal on holidays that they don't lack compared to their friends."

Family meals are not just a habit; they are the flame that warms happiness. In today's busy life, the absence of family members during meals, however undesirable, has become inevitable. To avoid sad meals, everyone should cherish and nurture happy, reunion-filled meals.

Thanh Son