FAMILY MEALTIME

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From the time my children were very young, I placed a high priority on having a daily family mealtime.

Having a family mealtime is not always an easy task when you try to balance homeschool events and schedules, job schedules, and extra curriculur activities.  However, because these family mealtimes were so important to me, my family has always worked very hard to accommodate my desire.

So, why may you ask, is family mealtime so important to me?

I want my family to always feel safe to talk about whatever they are going through at any particular time.  For me, this seems to be easiest during family mealtime. There’s something about a nice homecooked meal that seems to encourage my family to talk.  

Secondly, I want to provide a time for us to all sit down together and just relax.  A safe time to let your hair down and just be yourself, with no worries about being judged or ridiculed.

Additionally, I am well aware of the benefits of eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.  A clean, healthy diet helps us each to function at our best, gives us more energy, and affects our moods.  What we eat really does affect our lifestyle.

Having a family mealtime is not always easy.  
My secret weapon is my crock pot.  There is nothing like coming home after a long day of errands and stress than walking into our house and being overwhelmed by the sweet smelling aroma emanating from the crockpot and sitting down to a tasty, warm meal.

Family mealtime can be different for each family, since each family runs on a different schedule.
For some families, it may take sacrifice and waking up early to a home cooked breakfast.  For some, it may be all gathering at home halfway through the day for a special mid-day lunchtime meal.  For others, it may be an end of day, larger, homemade dinner. There are times, for us, that it is often more of a late-night, end of day meal.

These family mealtimes are something I will always cherish.  With our extremely busy schedule, these meals bring me more joy than I’d ever imagined possible.  Sitting down at the table at the end of the day, with my whole family, listening to my teens and younger children talk about how their days went or different relevant issues to their lives, are little moments I will never forget.

I want my children to remember that in addition to our table always being filled with plenty of food for everyone, it was also a place filled with laughter and love.
Encouraging a family mealtime is not always a simple task, but the benefits far outweigh the hassle.  

As my children are quickly becoming young adults, these mealtimes are often the only time I am able to actually talk to them.  
As much as I dislike washing dishes, most nights as I stand at the sink, I cannot help but smile as I reflect on what we were talking about or joking about as we ate.

I pray that these family mealtimes will continue for my family.  They will most likely not be every day, but I long to continue this tradition as often as humanly possible.  I look forward to sharing as many family mealtimes with my loved ones as possible.

If there is one thing I would encourage each family to do, it is to start a family mealtime.
Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

Check out my blog post on baking with children:
https://learningisawayoflife.com/christmas-kitchen-fun/