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Phrase: In the blink of an eye
Anything can happen in the blink of an eye, and food disappears in a big family even quicker than that!
You see, when something happens in the blink of an eye, it happens very quickly, almost instantly, actually.
Growing up in a family of five, I quickly learned he who hesitates is lost; you’re sure to lose out when it comes to getting enough to eat if you ever think twice or pause for any reason.
It was always a mad dash to the kitchen when my mom would announce that dinner was ready.
We would run to the kitchen table, trying to get there before anyone else.
And once everyone was seated, it was like a feeding frenzy.
Plates were passed around, seconds were dished out, and before you knew it, the food was gone.
Have I ever mentioned I am a slow eater?
If you weren’t quick enough, you’d be left staring at an empty dish, wishing you had acted faster.
If you were the last man standing (or, in this case, the last one sitting at the table), you were looking at crumbs.
But even if you did manage to grab a serving of your favourite dish, you had to be careful not to let your guard down.
My four younger sisters were like baby birds in a nest.
They were always on the lookout for an opportunity to steal a bite from your plate when you weren’t looking.
And if you weren’t paying attention, your food could disappear in the blink of an eye.
Despite the chaos that came with mealtime in a big family, there was something special about it.
It brought us together, albeit briefly, and created memories I still remember today.
And while I may have lost out on a few servings of my favourite dishes over the years, I wouldn’t trade those family dinners for anything.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 75.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.