My wife and I love being parents. It’s such an honor, a challenge, a frustration and a blessing, all at the same time! The whole “I wish there was an instruction manual for these kids” comment has been thrown around a few times for sure!
I think I can safely say that Pam and I feel like students, constantly learning new things about parenting. Oftentimes, it seems as though us parents are the students and our children are the teachers, doesn’t it?!
One of the most recent lessons that we’ve learned as parents is fairly simple, yet so important. Here it is…drum roll please…: SITTING AROUND THE TABLE AT MEALS IS SO AWESOME AND SO NECESSARY!!!
You may be thinking, “duh, of course it’s important to eat meals around the table!” and we thought the same thing for years…until our lives got a little busier. I confess that we got comfortable throwing a towel on the ground in the living room, flipping on the TV and contently eating there collectively gazing at the Food Channel or whatever….like for every meal. I know there’s worse things in life, but my wife and I realized that we needed to make some changes.
Don’t get me wrong, eating in the living room isn’t a cardinal sin and I certainly don’t condemn others for doing that! Life gets busy, I totally get it! For my family, it just didn’t work out, at least not as a regular thing.
When planted in front of the TV, we noticed a huge lack of conversation and the only comments made were things like, “hey, pass the Sriracha” or “I can’t believe Henry Danger did that!” Recapping the day didn’t really happen and we started to feel a little out of touch with each other. Things just felt “off.”
So, we decided that most nights (not ALL nights), dinner would be shared around the table together. The boys complained a bit at first, but I can understand their disappointment….parents vs. TV…hmmmm. They’re used to it now, but it’s not like they had much of a choice in the first place 😄.
You know what, it’s been great! It’s funny how a meal together around a piece of wood can sync things so nicely. We’re all present, we talk about the day, we laugh, we’re together mentally, not just physically, sitting in the same room staring at the screen. It’s beautiful.
I do understand that this may seem old fashioned to some folks and that’s ok! If eating around the table isn’t your thing, I encourage you to find that face-to-face time with your family. Whether it be taking a walk, reading books, playing games or whatever, it’s time well spent!
Let me know how it goes, friends!
God Bless,
Paul
Meat n' Potatoes 
When we dated, my wife and I ate pizza in the living room and watched TV. When we had our kids, we sat at the table every night and ate and prayed over our meals. Now that the kids are older and gone, we have returned to the living room watching TV and eating pizza like we were 20 again. lol. Good post!! Good dad.
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That’s funny Mark! It’s funny how things turn around over time! You guys deserve pizza dates again! From what it sounds like, you’ve put in your time being an awesome dad. Thanks for sharing buddy and thanks also for the kind words!
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