Topic > Short Story: 'The Calm Before the Storm' - 774

CALM BEFORE THE STORM When I was young, almost every night was a family night. Whether it was simply my immediate family or my entire extended family, there was always an anticipated chaos of heating the house at night. Such chaos that made the act of taking a moment of silence, to simply sit and breathe, feel foreign. Of any night of the week, Friday night is the most energetic. Being of Iranian Jewish descent, food and Fridays have always gone hand in hand for me. My culture thrives on the chilling, sensational satisfaction of a warm Friday night meal. As my grandmother used to say: "If there is even an open chair or a missing plate at the table, the night is already wasted." She's the one who taught me that no matter how messy or exhausting the night might be, family always comes first. Our family dinners are famous because the women never sit down at the table, because the woman (unfortunately me included) cooks equally at meal time. From the beginning of 12 (not young in my culture), ha...