The perfectly executed family meal is as rare and beautiful a thing as the "Mona Lisa" and probably just has hard to pull off too. In honor of family dinner, here are 9 of our favorite moments:

1. The nights when dinner started like this ...

and always ended at McDonald's. Without fail.

2. The meals younger siblings experimented with new eating styles ...

and did themselves bodily harm.

3. The baby brother or sister who REFUSED to swallow their food ...

and wore it instead.

4. The dish mom made that you hated ...

and made you try, every time.

5. The time you would not give in and eat what you hated ...

and Dad lost his temper.

6. The days you were assigned post-dinner dish duty ...

and wanted to lay down and die.

7. The times you had something important to say ...

and your sibling was having none of it.

8. The rare times you thought you wanted dessert ...

and immediately regretted your decision.

9. The moments you caught Mom sitting there like this ...

and the sheer chaos that unfolded around her.

A painting capturing all that family dinner really is would be as beautifully awful as a flaming train wreck, worthy to hang in any home. Comment below with your greatest family dinner moments.