The Dinner Table

How busy is your family? Is everyone going in different directions at the same time? What is dinner time like in your home? Is it a variable situation where each one grabs something as they are rushing out the door or heading to the TV or computer? If you do sit down together, are cell phones allowed?

As I was growing up, our dinner times provided consistently good memories. We were a busy family, especially as some of us kids reached high school age. Dad had to work hard and had various meetings in the evenings. Ron had sports practice and games. I had some sports after school. I would imagine the three girls did something but who knows what it could have been - they were girls. Also, making things more complicated, the high school was 20 miles away.

Still, with everything going on, Mom cooked dinner and kept us all on schedule to sit down to eat together most evenings. This was a consistent family time and an opportunity for catching up on what each of us was doing, share stories from the day and just have a good time together. We had some of our best times sitting around the table eating supper.

This did not happen by accident. It was a priority for both Mom and Dad. They had to make it happen and keep working at it year after year. The easy tendency would have been to give up and scatter in all directions. They did not and I am glad.

It may not seem like gathering around the supper table is a big deal right now for your family, but if you will make it happen on a consistent basis, it has the potential to grow into one of the best memory generators you will find. Make it happen - it does not have to be a big production. It is not the fancy meal that makes it special, it is the people sharing and laughing together.