1. Being terrified by the sight of this to this day:
2. Canceling all other plans for Sunday dinner.
3. And having a very loose interpretation of the word "dinner":
4. This inevitable question:
5. Looking forward to these at every family gathering:
6. And these at Christmas:
7. Never really grasping the concept of an "indoor voice."
8. Knowing that real coffee is always made on the stovetop.
9. And that there's always room for more.
10. Knowing that this stuff is NO joke:
11. Having very strong feelings about how to pronounce certain foods.
12. Knowing the cookies in this tin had seen their time long, long ago:
13. Everyone in the family sharing one of approximately eight names.
14. Being assigned this task:
15. And the ol' gravy vs. sauce debate:
16. People asking why you were wearing a chili pepper.
17. This:
18. The struggle of not, in fact, actually being hungry.
19. The mystery relatives:
20. Never having to go to the store for your tomatoes and basil.
21. This word being thrown around:
22. Feeling nostalgic about pastina.
23. And this stash of cookies:
24. Having no concept of what "one serving" actually is.
25. These omnipresent candies:
26. And seeing this guy everywhere you turned:
27. Familial connections:
28. Either loving or hating this:
29. Finding these in your Easter basket:
30. Having awkward encounters later on in life.
31. And most importantly, knowing that if this wasn't homemade, it wasn't coming anywhere near you:
Thumbnail image credit: Onofrio Scaduto/Creative Commons