I was reminded again the other night what the most important 30 minutes of the day is - probably most of you know without me saying it - it's family dinnertime.
When I was a mom of very young children, I sort of had the wrong idea about this. Sure, we ate dinner together almost everyday, but I thought it had more to do with WHAT was on the table. As the years have passed, I have realized that has nothing to do with it really. We could be eating a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner with all the fancy dishes and decorations or we could be eating soup and grilled cheese on paper plates - what matters is WHO is at the table and the relationships that are being built there.
As my kids are growing and going, I am ever so grateful that we placed a priority on family dinner. We don't have a perfect track record - there were many, many nights when we weren't all there - but we would always do our best to reconnect with whoever the absent party or parties were when they got back from their late night activity - save them a plate, get the rundown of their day for a few minutes while they ate, hopefully remind them that when life is tough and busy that they always have a place to come and decompress and be loved.
This year, although we still have 3 at home (Kennedy started her first post-college job in Williamsburg and Reagan is a Junior at Radford University), they are older and busy. McKinley is a senior with a job, a car, and multiple extracurricular activities. Carter is a sophomore who runs cross country everyday after school and never misses an opportunity to be with his friends. Pierce is a 7th grader, but he started military school this year - he and Nic walk out my door at 6:20 every morning! The boys at Fishburne kick off the day with 45 minutes of PT (physical training) BEFORE breakfast. Nobody gets here before 5:00 (holy long day for the 7th grader) and everyone is tired when they do make it home.
We have taken to eating dinner on the couches because our bodies need to relax, and some days what I manage to dish up is not all that exciting because I work full time too and meal prep has never been my strong suit. BUT, how good it is for all of our souls to sit there with each other for half an hour and reconnect - we are feeding our bodies, but the soul food is just as important.
If you are tempted to give up this time because it seems impossible - DON'T. You will be so, so glad to have these memories. Happy New School Year friends!!! 💕
