Sometimes Aubrey decides to skip a meal and does not eat with us, sometimes, Angelique. I allow them to do so, because I was like that when I was young. I believe that your body not only tells you what to eat, but when to eat.

In traditional British and Fil-Hispanic families, long ago, it was a heinous crime to not eat with everyone else in the house. The British cooks would get upset because preparing a meal was a production number. The Fil-Hispanic head of family would get upset because mealtimes were really staff meetings during which important announcements were made and in which everyone reported what they had been doing.

People-traffic in cities has changed all that. Condominium units have kitchens that double up as dining spaces, and, within the safety of narrow walls, chances are that people eat alone, eat in a cafeteria, or not at all.