More Than Just A Place To Sit and Eat!
... and other special firsts are celebrated here. We watch one another grow into the people we are today, remembering the small child that hides in all of us. The family dinner table is a place where traditions, values, and morals are passed on from generation to generation. I can still recall my father saying, “What is said here, stays here.” This gave me assurance that it was okay to share my needs, ideas, and feelings with my family. No one ever laughed at anyone. I always looked forward to dinnertime because I knew this was the one time a day where everyone would be together. Dad was finally home from work, mom would finally sit down after a busy day at home, and my sister and I were finally done with our chores. We were all there cherishing the company of one another. The family dinner table is a treasured heirloom to my family. Unlike the families interviewed in Marla Southerland’s essay, “The Family Fosters Table Time and Conversation”, televisions were always turned off during dinner. All interruptions, including the telephones and doorbells, were put to rest. Dinnertime actually turned into “family time” where conversation filled the room like that of a poker party. It was a fun experience not one that was dreaded and avoided. In our home, no one ever missed dinner. Just like the families in Southerland’s essay, all activities, meetings, and appoin...