Mealtime Musing...

I was just thinking... I come from a Mediterranean family and meals are EXTREMELY important to us. Sitting together as a family a sharing a meal with each other, its even better when we've cooked it together also.

For the past very long time, I've been unable to eat with my family and I see how it's distanced me from them -- similarly it's happened when my father has been too swamped with work to eat with us. When we don't take the time to SIT down at the kitchen table and eat, as a family, we grow apart. To me, meals aren't just "fuel your engine time" but rather a time to set aside the tasks of the day, rest, enjoy something to eat, and most importantly talk to each other. Table talk is quite often the best talk of the day. Everyone gets to share what they have been up to, what they plan to do; we discuss up coming events or ideas for the next day; we catch up on news from friends and family.

Taking the time to have a meal with your family is extremely important! We tend to get so caught up in our projects, activities, work, and social life that we forget to spend time with the very people we live with. I used to work 6 days a week at a restaurant: meaning I was never home for meals. I was perhaps putting in a total of 8 hours during the week (I've got activities two night a week so there went even more time NOT at work). As the weeks and moths progressed, I slowly realized that I had no idea what my family was up to. I no longer knew how they were doing; how they were growing in the Lord. Did all of my time simply vanish? No, but the "get-to-know-each-other-time" had.

Mealtime is the fundamental call to the household, everyone MUST be HERE at THIS time. It's comforting to both young and old to be able to rely on this as a constant in our crazy, hectic schedules.