Enjoy
Dinner TogetherThroughout the ages the dinnertime ritual has signified family and community bonding. Nowadays it seems almost a lost art, replaced by meals on the run. With both parents working long hours and kids on the go, family dinners have fallen by the wayside. But when schedules allow, meals together can be a joyful time of talking, listening, and sharing—even if it’s over fast food.Try to bring the entire family together at regular intervals for a common meal, even if it’s only once a week. Make a date with the rest of the family, and see that it’s kept. You could take turns making each kid’s “favorite” and Mom’s and Dad’s too and always feature a special treat for dessert or a movie-and-popcorn fest afterward. Once the family night becomes a habit, you may well find it’s the highlight of the week for everyone!
I once knew a family who often gathered around their piano and sang before supper. Sometimes they sang right through dessert. Dinners with them were true occasions, somewhat unusual but certainly memorable.
Even if your meals aren’t quite so festive, at least avoid tension. Dinnertime should not be an occasion for confrontations or lectures on manners—no one can digest food when angry or afraid. Family closeness and communication is far more important than etiquette. Reserve the serious discussions for a more appropriate place and time, and never use this occasion to reprimand or scold. Let your dinnertime be one of sharing and coming together, a time for checking in and keeping in touch.
Consider a family “cook-off” once a month, where each family member contributes one dish and invites one friend. Or get to know your neighbors and share some meals together. Our neighbors, the Hansens, have a such a knack for informally including us at their mealtime, that we don’t like to go too long now without dropping by to see what’s cooking. Everyone can contribute, young children too—even a three year old can set the table. And everyone can help clean up; adults, especially women, do not need to do all the work. Mike always makes cleaning up the kitchen fun. He learned it growing up in a large family of boys, where everyone did their own dishes and one pan before they were excused. It was as natural as brushing his teeth each morning, and now his kids are doing the same.
One family solved the who-is-going-to-cook problem by having simple meals on workdays. They might serve rice and vegetables in pretty bowls to be eaten with chopsticks, or baked potatoes with many kinds of toppings. Whatever they cook, they prepare it lovingly.
Family dinners are meant to provide nourishment for both body and soul. Add candles or flowers to the table, serve dinner with a grateful heart, and you’ll surely have a heavenly meal.
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