What's For Dinner...Hello? Is Anybody HERE For Dinner?

I have 3 children - ages 11, 9 and 2-1/2. They keep me busy...REALLY BUSY! Soccer practice...homework...dance class...the list goes on and on.

What has happened to "dinnertime" in our society? I remember when I was young, we sat down to a homecooked meal every night of the week - all of us. Even when we got older and had basketball, softball, volleyball and football practices and games...we still somehow found the time to sit down as a family and eat dinner together.

Society has become so fast-paced that life begins to fly right by us and we tend to forget the IMPORTANT things...talking with our children for starters. What better place to find out what's going on in our children's lives than at the dinner table?

I'm just as guilty as the next mom...practices, games, dad works late, I don't feel like cooking...all of those things tend to get in the way of family time. My goal every week is to sit down to a meal as a family 3 nights during the work/school week. This might not sound like a lot, but it works for us right now. It's a great time to talk about the highs and lows of the day. It's also a great place to hash out problems with homework that may not have been resolved yet. I find out A LOT about my kids' thoughts, fears and dreams just sitting down at the table together.

A colleague of mine has just produced a touching video - you can find it here:
The Family Dinner Video
You might want to get out the tissues :)

Here's a challenge for you: sit down to dinner as a whole family at least 2 times this week. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just "be" together. Let me know how it goes...