Looking Forward to Dinnertime and Bedtime

I can remember when I was about 9 years old. I was too young to have a full-time job, since I didn’t live in China, and I was also too young to be on an organized sports team with games or practice sessions after school. This was back in the olden days, when you had to be at least 11 years old to join a Little League team. Nowadays, they have T-ball leagues for 6 year olds, and soccer leagues for 3 year olds, and I recently heard they’re planning a new fetus football league.

However, back when I was 9, my only obligation when I came home from school was to go outside and play until dinnertime. There were plenty of other kids in the neighborhood, and we would play baseball, wiffle ball, football, and a bunch of other games we just made up on the spot. “OK, if you throw a rock and hit the trunk of that tree, you get one point. If you hit the skinny branch on the left, you get three points. And if you hit Johnny McGillicuddy, you get five points.” (For some reason, Johnny never liked this game.) Other times we would go hiking through the woods looking for frogs and snakes and buried treasure. 

It was a wonderful, carefree time. But each day our fun would come to an end when my dad whistled that it was time for dinner. My father could whistle so loud that no matter whose backyard we were in or how far out in the woods we wandered or how much noise we were making, the sound was unmistakable. That whistle meant fun time was over.

Then, soon after dinner, my mother would announce that it was time for bed, usually right before an important educational program was about to come on TV, such as “Green Acres” or Gilligan’s Island.” So, at the age of 9, there were two moments in my day that were very sad: dinnertime and bedtime.

Now, over a half century later, there are two moments during my day that I look forward to with a passionate longing: dinnertime and bedtime. 

I read somewhere that many people, as they get older, lose their appetite. Well, I have yet to be diagnosed with that affliction. Some foods are described as “comfort food.” To me, that is a redundant phrase. All food is comforting. The Thesaurus should add this synonym for the word food: “comfort,” right after the word “Mmmm.” I just really enjoy eating. Unfortunately, since I no longer run around the neighborhood everyday from 3 PM till 6 PM, I’m not burning the same amount of calories I did when I was 9, as my uncomfortably tight belt reminds me each morning.

Also, dinnertime means the work day finally is over, so dinner is not only physically comforting, it also is psychologically relaxing.

Then, an hour or two later (after watching some important educational programs on TV, such as reruns of “Green Acres” and “Gilligan’s Island”), it is time for bed. This moment always puts a smile on my face. Bedtime means I get to climb onto my warm and luxurious mattress. And bedtime means I can read a book — just for fun! — for anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on how long I can keep my eyes open. Drifting off to sleep might be the most enjoyable part of my day.

There are other things that I disliked at age 9, but now no longer feel the same way. For example, I now know that taking a shower won’t kill you. I understand that brushing your teeth is not painful. And I’ve learned that girls, in fact, do not have cooties.