In days gone by the dining room or kitchen table was the center of family life. These days that tradition has gone by the wayside. This very unfortunate because it shows in the typical family. A tightly knit family was the starting point for life just a few generations ago and it showed in our country as a whole. These days most people have very little idea of what is really going on thier extended family let alone in thier own home. The dining room table was a place where everyone talked about what was going on, what they where doing, thier plans for the week etc over breakfast, lunch and dinner. These days a meal consists of whatever can be picked up in a drive through window or unwrapped while you're on the way to do something.

Our modern age of accomplishing more, instant gratification and cheap massed produced everything has taken its toll on the family unit. We have substitued family time for all things cheap and meaningless. Mickey D's, the rehashed sitcom or reality tv show and chinese furniture.

When did the status quo become having everything done for us? Taking no pride in anything including the family? Making a dinner that took a couple of hours used to be a source of pride for who ever made it, typically the wife. It took time and skill, both of which seem to be a rare commodity these days. If someone actually cooks these days it tends to be from one of those meals in 20 minutes cookbooks that does nothing but list prepackaged ingredients to be dumped into a pot and heated up. The funny part is that in alot of families even this farce of cooking dinner is met with "you cooked dinner?". My god! What happened to quality and pride?

When everything is quick, cheap and disposable in life what really has any meaning or value? How can it have any value or meaning?

A conversation held in front of the tv is distracted and typically forgotten very quickly by everyone involved. It carries no meaning because there is no eye contact or true interaction. Conversations held over a true home cooked meal that was carefully prepared carries with it a whole lot more meaning. Why you ask well it's simple. Whoever took the time to pick up, prepare and then cook everything must really care about who they're making it for. They were willing to set aside the time necessary to make such a meal. In this day and age of no time that in itself says alot. When such an effort is undertaken it doesn't go un-noticed simply because it so rare these days. One of the biggest keys to the whole dinner as a family thing is the initial effort put forth by the person that actually made it. This sets things in motion for all involved to put extra effort into what goes on around the dinner table.

Conversations around the dinner table are undistracted, face to face and more sincere. When home made dinners, around the dining room or kitchen table, are included as a standard part of family life that family has a chance to become like the families of our fore-fathers - closer, more loving and sincere.