Growing up, my parents were divorced and working. So instead of splitting my time between Mom and Dad, I went from one grandparents house to the other. Now most people say their grandparents were the ones that always had family dinners. Well not mine. I grew up in the age of TV dinners. You know those fantastically, nasty trays of food that you could cook in 2 minutes and eat while watching your favorite show. So most of the time that is what happened. And I have to admit, in the beginning of my Mommy years, I let my kids do the same thing.

Then one day it all changed. We just moved into a house that actually had a dining room. And so our tradition began. Every night, with a few exceptions, we eat dinner at the table as a family. I’ll admit at first it was just a way to keep my white rug looking nice. But now it has become a tradition. A moment in time where we can all sit around and talk, joke and laugh. Or in my son’s case to have the attention of everyone in the house at one time. It’s hard to get him to be quiet long enough to stick some food in his mouth. But that’s okay because we are together.

But being a homeschooling family and eating almost 3 meals a day together, we now have family breakfasts and lunches sometimes.

Sometimes I am that cool mom that says yes you can enjoy pizza with a movie.

On holidays the kids get the TV table, so the adults can talk and eat in peace, but it’s still as a family.

Very rarely is there a constant flow of people in and out of the kitchen eating.

I am hoping that my kids will pass on these little traditions to their children. Family dinners are essential to knowing about your child and what is going on. We don’t always talk sometimes we are way too tired. But being around each other is comforting. Like a blanket on a cold day. It’s knowing your family is there no matter what.