Becoming Wise About Dinnertime

Just before we eat dinner each night, it’s routine for me to call out to the kids, “Please set the table.  Seven plates.  Seven glasses.  Seven napkins. Seven forks and knives!”

We are a blended family of seven.  I was a divorced mother of three young kids when I met Jay.  He has two young children of his own.  Before we met, we were both struggling to raise kids independently.  Dinner was an after-thought in our busy lives.  To me, it was about getting whatever was quickest on the table.  I often didn’t even sit down with the kids while they ate.  After all, they had a tv to keep them company.

Today I have a whole different perspective on dinner for my family.  I guess meeting Jay and taking responsibility for all seven of us caused me to reconsider my approach.  I needed to put some planning into this.  I needed to think about schedules.  I needed to consider a budget. 

So we made it work and we now have dinner together each night.  Admittedly, dinner is sometimes very late, (or very early), depending on sport schedules and school activities.  But I can’t tell you enough how much this simple routine has brought us close to each other.  We pray together before we eat.  We share stories and jokes.  We learn things about each other we probably wouldn’t know if it weren’t for making dinner together a priority.

I wish I had this wisdom earlier in life, but I’m so grateful that I have it now.  We take pride in setting our table for seven each night and finding the time for this very important event we call “dinner”.