family meals

I am starting to see my grandmother in myself. Not the one who took me to church, but the one who could cook...anything and really well.

When D is home and we sit down to a meal as a family, it is an event. We sit in the dining room...that's the only table we have all been able to fit at for quite some time now. There is a table cloth to protect that table. There is abundant food. There are 8 mouths to feed, there has to be a lot of food! We all talk about our days or what we want to do next. There is rarely any arguing. It is a moment where we can all be together and get along.

Thankfully we don't have very picky eaters at our house, either. My boys especially will just devour what is on the table. It really is a joyful time.

That brings me to my grandmother. We knew she was thinking of us when we sat down to dinner at her house and our favorites were on the table. For celebrations, when there were several of her children and grandchildren around, that meant she could have done a lot of cooking. She loved it. It was her way of showing us she cared for us.

I see that in myself now. I want to make a big meal so that we can all sit down to dinner and have time to really connect with each other. We can talk, we can share, we can plan. Often there is a song from a little one. Yesterday the talk of was about the school bus. Emma has been very anxious about riding the bus in the fall. The three older kids were talking about which of them she could sit with...who will take care of her on the bus. I am just amazed at my kids and their love for each other, but that is another post.

I'm so thankful for those mealtimes...to just connect and be together. I love facilitating that for my family.