On Monday I briefly mentioned this allusive thing we call "dinner". Specifically, "family dinner" (whatever that is).
I can't have anyone envisioning my family sitting down to a perfectly moist roast on Sundays. Let me burst that ridiculous bubble right now. I don't think I've ever cooked in heels (perhaps a dress, but no pearls). My hair is more likely to be in a messy bun than a perfectly coiffed style.* I usually have a mess on every inch of counter space available and half the time I've spilled something on me or the floor or both.
Seeing as how I manage to cook meals so attractively, you can imagine I look forward to doing that every night. HA! I love to cook and bake, but every night is a "no go" for our family. Here is what our family does to retain the family dinner:
We enjoy breakfast together most mornings, with Saturday typically being a special menu (pancakes, scones, waffles, doughnuts, etc.). My husband works later shifts, which allows for fantastic breakfast time, but not many evenings around the dinner table. Dinners are mostly no-nonsense, quick meals, with the exception of making pizza on our Family Day.** This has become quite the tradition for our family, and we hope it is creating an array of sweet memories for our kids (along with doing all the other positive things family dinner is supposed to do-increase confidence, boost grades, keep them off drugs, all that jazz).
So there you have it. Our family dinner takes place in the morning, and there's no roast cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection. Just a family spending time together and investing in each others' lives.
Give it a whirl and be creative!
What does your family do to keep the spirit of family dinners alive?
Looking Forward to Pizza,
Cynthia
*I don't think this even qualifies as a hot mess. I'm
**The children have perfected the art of making what we have dubbed "pizzaritos".
Before I had children I had this glamorous idea of what dinner in our home would look like..... Reality is far from that idea. Kudos for actually having a sit down family meal at least once a day! We usually are only all together for dinner maybe once a week and breakfast is usually grab and go.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! We had lots of fun family dinners growing up. As we grew older, watching TV every night slowed down our conversations. I think one of the best ways to "keep the spirit of family dinners alive" is to turn off the TV, games, and phones - at least for most meals - and have real conversations.
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