As I am getting ready to head out to the food store to pick up something for dinner tonight, as well as to stock up the refrigerator, which is looking rather, bare, it got me thinking of how much I enjoy dinner time. I had the flu, or some sort of bug this weekend, complete with fever and all, which made me not hungry at all, in fact I stayed in bed sleeping almost the entire weekend, getting out of bed for no more than ten minutes at a time.

I ended up missing out on all of the meals, too sick to eat, and it bummed me out. I enjoy having everyone around the table at the end of the day, so that we can talk about each of our days, what we have to do the following day, as well as what everyone would like to do during the coming weekend. It is a great time to connect with one and other, and something that seems to be a rarity these days in this ever more fast paced world. So many families now rely on ready cooked meals, take out, and fast food joints, that a good home cooked meals around the table just don’t seem possible.

In our home it is a rule that the television must be turned off during dinner. There is hardly anything that irks me more than everyone at the table together, craning their necks to see the TV, with no one saying a word to one and other. There is plenty of time to stare at the tube in a mind numbing fashion; dinnertime just simply is not one of them in my household. We also have a rule in the house that no phones are answered during dinner, it is strictly time for the family, and whoever is calling can wait until we are finished.

We are blessed in our home in the fact that both my husband and myself enjoy cooking. It works out well, when one of us is not in the mood to cook, the other one usually is, and when neither of us is, there are usually leftovers from the night before. Our budget does not allow for a lot of eating out, and I don’t mind that. There are plenty of other things to spend money on, than over priced food. Plus, I think it makes going out that much more special when it doesn’t happen all that often.

Sure there are times when going out seems much more appealing than standing at the stove and whipping something up, but I enjoy the fact that the kids get so excited about going out to eat, and I believe that that would not be the case if we were to do it more often.

The kids too, look forward to dinnertime, once I say it is time for dinner the four-year-old races to the television and turns it off before jumping into his seat at the table. It is a time of the day that we all seem to enjoy, especially during this age of technology when during the day everyone seems to be attached to one electronic device or another. Eating together without the television, or other distractions is a great way to connect with each other at the end of the day, and to get some family time in during the hectic weekdays of life!


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