What's For Dinner?

I happened to be driving one day, and saw a family sitting at the dinner table eating. I couldn’t believe my stars because I didn’t know people still did that. I see it on TV and in the movies but that doesn’t count. I always wanted to be one of those Betty Crocker homemakers that had dinner on the table by 6p every evening, but that dream crashed and burned along with many others.  Shoot, I don’t even own a dining room table. Does a TV tray count? Growing up we always sat at the dinner table, but as we got older, everybody started doing their own thing, and sitting at the table disappeared. Going out to eat brought us back together but only for a brief moment. My mom had two rules, no TV during dinner and you had to try everything on your plate, and she would make you sit there until you did. I sat there forever one time because I didn’t want to eat my peas. My mom doesn’t know it but when she left the room me and my sister had a food fight and threw peas at each other. J

 Eating together gave us a chance to learn things about each other that we didn’t know. We heard funny stories and were given drawn out lectures that made us want to roll our eyes. Eating dinner together strengthened our bond and I miss that. Nowadays no one has time. Dinner gets cooked; everybody grabs a plate, and then goes their separate ways. The TV ends up raising us and it becomes more convenient to eat out then cook. We miss those important face to face interactions with each other because we’re too busy texting, Facebooking, or Tweeting. Technology and our need for money has taken over and controlling our lives. Most of us don’t even know our own children much less ourselves, because we’re too busy and too tired.  I get so wrapped up in what I have going on that making time for others is the furthest from my mind. I’m constantly thinking about what I have to do or what needs to be done, that my relationships suffer. Too many people have made drastic, life altering decisions because we were too busy to listen. Can we turn off the TV and put our phones down long enough to strengthen and preserve our family?

Until next time...,