Are you and your spouse always too busy to sit down and eat meals together? Do you grab a plate in the kitchen, load it up and chat briefly before heading off to your respective corners to eat? When was the last time you actually: set the table?
If you’re having trouble even remembering then it may be worth considering that the act of breaking bread together is far more than sharing a few words together while choking down food at high speed. The act of breaking bread means to lay the table for a meal, lay the meal out to be shared and then to sit and enjoy – actively the act of eating and conversing over the dinner table.
Life Gets Busy Sometimes
Sometimes life gets busy and responsibilities can demand that we work longer hours, bring work home and even work on the weekends. But if we get so caught up in the work and the duties, we forget what it is to enjoy each other and the company of our families and those around us. In a typical family, the dinner table is one of the last remaining bastions of family unity.
Think about it, you and your spouse may be on divergent schedules. One of you may be up earlier than the other. One of you may have to get the kids up and ready for school and the other spouse may leave while you are out. Then there’s workday, the school day, the after school activities or even volunteer or other responsibilities – it may be 5 or 6 in the evening and in some cases, even later when everyone is together again.
Then there’s homework, housework, baths, bedtime and more. It can become so complicated, that you forget to make the time to spend together. Dinner can take an hour to prepare and fifteen minutes of solitude to choke down while working at a computer desk, staring at a television or reading a book. Married couples and families need more than a passing acquaintance in the kitchen going to and from to get a meal and put up the dishes in order to build and maintain their family bonds.
If you’ve ever wondered why it is that some families just seem to drift apart – this is one of the underlying causes. So tonight, set the table for dinner and serve the meal at the table. Request the presence of your spouse and family and don’t turn on the TV. and don’t rush through the food. Take the time to talk, to bond and to remember – you are a family, you do matter to each other and breaking bread together is one of the ways you share and celebrate your family.
Do you and your family sit down together for a meal every day?
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Why Families Should Eat Dinner Together