Family Dinner

We resurrected the family dinner tonight. It made me giddy with joy. I can't remember the last time we all sat down together for a meal. Today though, while driving down to Bloomington for a doctor's appointment, it occurred to me that all of us would be home tonight...

When was the last time we all sat down together for dinner that wasn't a holiday? I can't quite remember. It's like the family dinner had died.

I know that when G first started dancing in Carmel I asked that she not have any classes on Wednesdays. She went all the other nights of the week and I felt she needed a night at home. That year Wednesday nights used to be our "family night" when we could all sit down together for dinner. J was cheering then but Wednesdays were usually her night off. We had nice meals together at home or, when hubs went out of town, the girls and I ventured out and tried new restaurants (the sort that hubs didn't enjoy).

Since that time though, G goes to Carmel every evening, Monday through Friday, to dance. J has had her share of school and church related activities. Hubs is often out of town for work and I am either in Carmel with G or working so our time together in the evenings is fractured.

I wonder how many other families live like this?

Today though, I realized all of us would be home tonight, and tomorrow,  AND the next two nights! G's evening dance classes start next week. J will be moving (gulp!) down to IU next week. But, this week, we are all here... so I decided we should have a family dinner every night we could.

Since J is moving away I asked her what her choice was for dinner tonight. We ended up with adobo beef with butternut squash and rice. We got to hear G lament about how awful it was to start school again. Hubs warned all of us not to run over the groundhog who seems to have taken up residence at the end of our driveway. We all discussed what to have for dinner the rest of the week. Tomorrow night will be a pasta bar as everyone wanted a different kind of pasta. Wednesday will be homemade pizza night. Thursday I work in Bloomington from 6 am to 3 pm so we are going out for dinner when I get home. I work Friday evening so hubs will have to figure things out. After that, maybe I can talk everyone into sticking around for family dinner over the weekend as, who knows when we'll eat together again after that.

Family night. Hang on to it!