{time for a change}

So a while back I read this post of Dani's about the importance of eating together 

as a family...it's a great post, you really should read it.

 And I must say, ever since then I have been feeling pretty guilty about the

 lack of family dinners in this house.

I was raised Catholic so the guilt is readily there but seriously, it is something that I 

know has needed to change for a long time and she just

 made me decide to actually make the change.

So we are, starting this week.

I'm doing it.

It's time for a change.

I grew up in what I consider to be a typical home for the time (70's, 80's, early 90's) 

where my dad worked, my mom

 stayed home with us kids and we sat down to dinner together every night.

This is a family tradition that I, sadly, have not done a very good job of carrying on.

But it's a tradition/ritual/activity that I think is very important.

So I totally get it but until now I guess I have not made it a priority.

There are a few reasons why...

Eric commutes to work and he usually does not get home until 6:30-7:00 

depending on the day, it is usually more like 6:45. This makes eating together hard. 

Impossible? No. But hard.

That right there is my #1 reason.

Also, I am home all day with the kids so I guess selfishly, I don't want to delay 

baths, books and bed by an hour.....

I.need.some.quiet.time.already.

That would be my #2 reason.

I also might add here that we are not eating McDonald's in front of the tv every night, it's not that bad. It's just not enough of what I feel like we should be doing.

With the start of school this week and the fact that we will not be home all

 day together, it's time for a change.

Enter : regularly scheduled meals.

And they will be scheduled.

It won't be every night, that's just not gonna work here.

And it might be dinner, breakfast or whatever works for us.

I don't think I've ever mentioned before that I work two nights a week, 

for a total of about four hours a week...but I do.

 I leave when Eric gets home and I am home about two hours later (after the kids are in bed) 

it's not a lot but it's just another reason dinner doesn't work out for those two nights.

I'm really not making excuses, I'm just sayin'.

Anyway,  this morning we all ate breakfast together.

Waffles, sausage, cantaloupe and orange juice.

I think we're off to a good start.

Dani shared this quote by Jamie Oliver in her post and I love it,  I think it's worth sharing here, too:

"This sounds a bit romantic, but if once, twice, or even three times a week people cooked, and sat around the table with their family, that would have a dramatic impact on the whole country. I think kids would be happier, marriages would fail less. I suppose my belief is that by just creating an element of care in the mainstream you have a much nicer environment all 'round."

*       *       *

Thanks for the nudge, Dani.

I would love to hear what you all have to say on this topic.

Do you eat together every night? Rarely?

What works for you and your family? 

Happy Sunday everyone, hope you had a great weekend.