Take a Break and Please Pass the Potatoes
Many of you probably have a memory that goes something like
this. You would get up on a Sunday
morning and go to church. And after a
sometimes invigorating sermon from the preacher (and sometimes not) it was time
for Sunday dinner. This was the only day
of the week we would gather around the dining room table for a big meal that my
grandmother had started cooking before she left for church. But it was a time when the family came e
together and set aside time to visit. The
family time was practically sacred and it’s why national companies like Hobby
Lobby and Iowa based Fareway Food Stores still remain closed on Sunday so
employees can spend time with their families. And there were several
opportunities during the week at the normal dinner hour in which the family got
together for a meal.
Maybe the memories
should be brought back in the 21st Century.
The fact that fewer and fewer families spend time at the
family table may be one of the reasons we find ourselves with many more dysfunctional
family unit. There
is relatively fresh research indicating the family unit is more cohesive if
time is taken several times a week to “break bread together.”
This suggestion may make some shy away from trying and I hope
not.
The dinner table
should be an electronics free zone. I
concur wholeheartedly with lifestyle columnist Leanne Ely who argues for conversation without screen
time and getting some help with preparing the meal. Social status email and texts can all wait for
half an hour while we reconnect with each other after the day. This will take work because like anything
else you will have to schedule the time which competes with all the activities.
The question then becomes what is more important; connecting with your mom,
dad, or children or running four
different places after school or work, grabbing a granola bar, and living a
post-it-note/text existence with the
family?
Are dining rooms becoming obsolete? A recent news story we did at WHO referenced
a recent survey that indicated forty five percent of the respondents said there
were. We need to reduce that percentage, period. Otherwise we will continue to head down the
wrong path and we cannot afford to do that.
Would you please pass the green bean casserole.
Be well.
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