Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Around The Dinner Table...

Sitting down with your family for dinner (aka supper) used to be part of daily life. Unfortunately due to schedules that are way too busy families rarely take the time to visit over an evening meal.

When I was pregnant with my daughter (17+ years ago) I started making my hubby sit down for dinner. Even though it felt a little odd with just the two of us...we kept it up. When Morgan was born we pulled her high chair up to the table...and then there was three. By the time Jon came along dinner together was part of our everyday schedule.
This is such a wonderful time to decompress from the day, to connect with your family and to get ready for what your evening may hold. Chores, games, homework, school activities, meetings, etc... With a little planning (and I mean a little) you can have a meal. It doesn't have to be fancy. It could be take out (but not too often). It's more about the family time than the food.

Over the last few months my world has felt disconnected and ungrounded. Dinner became whatever you could grab on your way to the next "obligation". I hadn't "talked" to my kids or my hubby for that matter. I took a step on Monday to get back in touch with my life, family and peaceful feeling by planning a sit down dinner. As you see the food was not fancy (tasty though). We were ready to sit down to dinner when Morgan walked in the door from band. It was amazing how the mood of the household lifted just by taking the time to sit down together. Morgan shared her first day of school, Jon talked about what he did throughout the day (he starts at Crestview a week later than Mo)...we just visited. It's great to reconnect.
Even if you open a couple cans of soup and grab the loaf of bread...take the time to sit down with your family and your friends. It's more rewarding and relaxing than you can imagine. Life can change in the blink of an eye...grab every moment you can while you can.

4 comments:

Amy Johnson said...

AMEN! Yes, its hard to find the time to sit down together as a family for dinner. Even if we can't manage it everyday because of schedules, we try to do it at least once a week. Being in retail, I'm not home much at dinner time either more, so its hard.

Darlene said...

VERY WELL SAID my dear!! I will be linking this to several of my friends because I think you have hit on an excellent (needs thought about) topic!! FAMILY!! Thanks for sharing this!!

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree with you more!! It's a precious time - glad you were able to enjoy a meal and conversation! BTW I'm a stamping friend of your mom. She said it was o.k. to let you know : ) Hope you can enjoy many more in the midst of the busyness of the school year!

Hearts Turned said...

I so agree with everything you said--dinner time is the only time my whole family can sit down together & decompress from the day--so important! I appreciated your thought on keeping the family connected. I love cooking for my family, too, which makes it fun for me! Loved looking at your blog--thanks for sharing your thoughts! P.S. You have a WONDERFUL mother!