Beautiful Family Dinner

Families come in all sizes and configurations.  Some immediate families are huge; my aunt and uncle had 11 children if you can imagine. Some families do not have children at all.  Some families are made up of a single person and a dog, the "fur-child." From same-sex parents to blended families to clusters of friends who do not need shared blood to bind them, family matters. 

Connecting with that family also matters. For some of us, it is our number one priority. Which brings me to Family Dinner. It can solve a host of issues. Do you want a way to spend meaningful time with your children during a busy day? Solution: Family dinner. Are you wishing for a moment of peace to connect with your spouse? Family dinner. Do you want to live healthier and feel more in control of your life?  Family dinner.

The Norman Rockwell picture of what this looks like does not exist for most of us because the way families look and function varies from home to home. In our house at least, family dinner is not always peaceful, happy, and calm. We have spirited conversations, or the dogs bark too much, or someone is tired or had a bad day and buttons are pushed, and although it does not happen often, someone might even leave the table. That's real. And that's okay because family life is often disruptive and difficult.  But a family is also full of unconditional love and acceptance so the next night we will try again. And the next night dinner might not see a lot of conversation but rather a listen to Pink Floyd's "The Wall."  And it might include our son's girlfriend, family from out of town, or some little kids who were over to play and thought the food smelled so good that they begged to stay. Sometimes being part of a family means letting go of the image of how you thought it is "supposed" to be and making space for something different. It's the effort that matters.  It's the effort that makes it beautiful.

Last night my husband looked at dinner and said, "Take a picture of that.  That is beautiful food."  So I did. Here it is. It's sesame orange chicken on top of fried rice with bok choy, cabbage, and spinach and it came together in a haphazard, creative way. In fact, the plan I had for dinner was originally some kind of chicken sandwiches and a salad but obviously it turned into something completely different and just as good. Maybe better. Dinner and family is like that. 

wishing you the beauty of a warm dinner shared with someone you love,
hk