So you wanted to eat dinner?

This week has been a rough one for dinner time. We have a particular neighbor who likes to drop by on her way to or from her house, or both, depending on the day. Often she just stops in for a few minutes, but sometimes she settles in for the long haul. She sits down, tells graphic stories about the misdeeds of neighbors and acquaintances, scrolls Facebook on her phone, calls friends, and generally just hangs out.

One of the dinners that waited

And this week her settling in has conveniently collided with our dinner time on multiple occasions. No matter what time we are finishing up dinner prep, she arrives just as the end is in sight.

I'd say that it's intentional, but she couldn't have timed it better if she tried. It's not like we eat at the same time every night.

I'd like to say that it's easy to just add another plate and go with it, but it's often not as easy as that.

We don't often cook islander-style food at home. And sometimes... we even... add bacon* to our meals. (shocked face) And if we're cooking for two, adding a third to the meal is a significant adjustment. And oftentimes we're doing dinner salads-- lettuce doesn't keep for more than a couple days, so we can't just have leftovers for later. And... and... and.

In this island life, we life with open houses and open hearts. But sometimes it gets complicated on where to draw the lines. Should I rearrange my diet on the off-chance of having visitors? Do I make extra and deal with the possibility of food waste? Do I split my dinner with her and realize I might go to bed hungry? Or do I sit in hunger while my food goes cold, waiting for her to get sleepy and go home?


* The islands don't import pork products, due to the fact that islanders are Muslim. I occasionally bring bacon bits back from other places.