confessions

It’s been summer. Full of nothingness. Full of busyness. Full of planning. At the same time that I have celebrated many meals with friends and family my own nuclear group seems to be wandering farther and farther from the tabletop gatherings I cherish.

“Where did you learn to eat?” my husband scolded the sloppy 6-year-old last night, just as I was mourning in my head. No sooner had I thought … “Man this feels strange to sit with all of them at the table,” Mr. 6 was scolded for eating with his fingers rather than his silverware. I got sassy.

“In front of the TV,” I said somewhat snappily.

“That’s not true,” my husband retorted. Always less idealistic, he accepts that our days of nightly meals around the table together are done. If karate isn’t on the schedule, something else will be, so I need to just loosen up a bit.

And that’s how it’s gone this summer. We’ve shared many meals, just not the regular five-of-us-for-dinner kind.

With the scrapbooking gang we always sit down twice. Everyone arrives and we snack our way through a lunch. (The kids have learned that there will always be fresh veggies and fruit, so eat the sweets first! This cracks up the moms, who could care less that the kids each suck down a pile of cookies because then they actually DO eat the strawberries, carrots, etc.) Then, at the end of the day, we put the kids around the table and serve them something fun and they eat and laugh and then … OHMAGOSH! … clear their places when they’re finished.

At family get-togethers my guys can fill their own plates and it’s not a mess of chips and cake. There actually are veggies and dip next to the chips (Even Mr. 6 gets fruit and veggies!) and all three always try the entrée, sometimes going back for seconds.

So, while I confess to falling out of the habit a bit in the looseness of the summer season, in typing this I’ve discovered that my years of making them sit at the table have paid off with their healthy eating habits; their willingness to try new things; and their ability to sit at a table of 10 kids and clean their plates. Top that off with the conversation and laughter that rises from those little faces when they are together and I don’t suppose I should have been mourning last night.

(OK, I really hate it when I come around to seeing things the husband’s way!)

I also confess to being neglectful in this space. As I have allowed the kids time to play games on my computer I have allowed the fragments of several posts to run from my head without hitting any keys. I simply must do better.

Finally, I confess to still not knowing the future of Ready, Set, Relax. I know officials have been working to find a date and hope to report something soon.

So, those are the things I’ve let go as a rigid routine morphed into the ebb and flow of summer. But, maybe that’s why I’ve learned to love summer so much … we get to just be. Just be un-busy. Just be outside. Just be. Hope you and yours are savoring summer. It’s time for a bike ride ….