Dinner Will Be Served at 5:30pm & WLWW Link-Up Party
For 14 years of marriage, dinner has been promptly served at 5:30pm. Why? Because this is how I grew up. I remember when I was a kid, shortly before dinner would be served a very loud beeping sound would come from the kitchen phone. In the olden’ days 🙂 when a phone was bumped off the hook it would beep very loudly at a fast pace so you were alerted to put it back on the hook. Well, my mom took it off the hook on purpose because she did not want our time around the table to be interrupted – she guarded this time.
Mom always had a home cooked dinner and dessert on the table, we opened in prayer and then ate and talked up a storm. As we got into the teen years, my sisters and I had activities that would get in the way, so sometimes we ate in shifts but when we arrived late in the evening – there was always a home cooked meal and my mom in the kitchen ready to feed us and talk with us about our day. I strongly believe this is one of the reasons why all five of us as adults, are close to each other and to our Heavenly Father.
Growing up this seemed normal – I assumed all families did life this way. Then I married my husband. He did not grow up in a home like this. Some of his favorite memories from childhood are from the holidays when his mom cooked a big meal and they ate around the dinner table…this is when I realized how special our nightly ritual was.
Recently I told my children, “”a lot of families eat with the television on rather than talking“. They were surprised and they felt like they were missing out! They wanted to eat with the television on too! lol!
To read the rest of this post and to find some fun conversation starters – join me over at Mom Heart where I am contributing today!
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Now! It’s my favorite day of the week! It’s Women Living Well’s Wednesday Link-Up Party!!!
Join the fun, do a little blog hopping and don’t forget if you join below -please add the Women Living Well Wednesdays button to your post so your readers can find us here! (Posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, homeschooling, finances, recipes, organization and more!)
To find the code go to the sidebar – or right click and “save as” the button and then upload it into your post! 🙂
Walk with the King,
And I thought we were the only family left that does this. We eat together almost every night unless my daughter has to work. We eat at 6pm and it is the time we all download. We feel cheated if we miss dinner together and sometimes my daughter calls from work to see what I am cooking! I’m hopping over to hear about your conversation starters now. Thanks, enjoying this community.
It’s 6 p.m. here too!! My 12 yr old daughter is a juvenile diabetic, so she has to eat by a certain time. I find that has helped me have more motivation to have supper on the table at a decent time. Otherwise, in the summer we might be eating much later.
I am an only child, but my parents and I sat down to supper together every single night. We never missed a meal together that I can remember.
This is my first time linking up to WLWW, and I am so excited to participate!!
I love this post so much!!!!
We light candles at the dinner table. They’re super cheap at the Dollar Tree and make such a difference in the ambiance :)!!
My Mama took the phone off the hook too, good times!
Thanks for hosting! I shared two methods for freezing greens and also food science information on soaking grains.
I also shared a recipe for a salmon wrap on my calcium site.
That sounds very similar to how I grew up. In the summer when my Dad would be harvesting we loaded up the meal and ate in on a blanket in the field even. Only recently though in my own family are we getting more balanced and organized with the family meal. Sadly my husband isn’t home until often 9 or 10 at night so he misses out but when he is home we always try to sit down together (as much as a 6 yr old, 3 yr old and 1 yr old can sit 🙂
my husband and I both grew up eating dinner at the table as a family, so naturally that is what we do with our own family. having recently gone through a double baseball season with our 2 oldest boys … it’s was one of the things we missed dearly each night we had to hurry to a game.
great post, Courtney!
This is such a cherished part of our day, as well! Many people don’t realize how important it is to have family meals. 🙂 I am so glad to be linking up with you for the first time and shared several posts. I also put your button in my sidebar. Many blessings, Lisa
Growing up we rarely ate dinner together, and always sat in front of the tv. My hubby’s family was the exact opposite. With our family we eat together every night at the table. It is a cherished part of the day. Most nights we talk and have such a good time that we have to remind the kids to finish eating.=) I think they are “soaking up” our undivided attention.
Thank you for hosting Courtney! I always look forward to your posts and linky party!
God bless!
Barbara
http://chase-thestar.blogspot.com
My husband often works late, so we have two dinners. One where we snack before he gets home, and then we officially eat after he walks in the door. Our dinner table often looks like the kitchen island with barstools all around, but it is still dinner together and undivided time. The kids know that when Daddy walks through that door, we will be headed to the kitchen to eat together. It is such a special time for us!
Oh, yes, family mealtimes are so important to the kids and me…but my husband doesn’t come from the same background and he doesn’t value them in the same way. Sigh!
I’ve learned to submit to him in this and eat with the kids while making room for him to be involved whenever he wants. And after 23 years it is getting better! 🙂
Yes girl! Dinner is at 5 here! and it was that way in MY childhood home! Every now and then my adult son wonders in for dinner and says: yum. that was good. I say child: that happens EVERY day at 5 o clock. 🙂 GREAT subject!
My husband is not usually home by 5:30. He can get home any time between 5:00 and 6:30, so I can’t have a set time to have it on the to have dinner on the table. I try to have dinner started around 4:45 (unless it’s already in the crockpot or something like that), and then call him around 5 to see when he’ll be home. When he gets home, we give him a few minutes to unwind, and then eat together. My kids are still little, so it isn’t hard to all get around the table. I know it will get more complicated someday soon, so I’m hoping we can keep up the habit!
This is exactly the home and dinner routine that I am trying to establish for our young family. Thank you for sharing this. It truly is a blessing to our families to do it this way!
Megan @ wwwsunshinethroughthewindows.blogspot.com
When my kiddos were small, our dinner time was also at 5:30 every day. My husband grew up like that and it just kind of continued in our lives. Now as they have gotten into their teens, we “do what we can”. They are so busy that sometimes we are making dinner in our own “carry out boxes” and eating together in the car on the way to a game. Hey, at least we’re together! 🙂
Thanks for sharing Courtney! I so appreciate all you do to advance HIS Kingdom!!
We do the same! My husband is usually home by 5:45 so we eat by 6:00. We talk as he leaves for the 30 minute drive home so that’s helpful to gauge things. Recently I had a talk with him about not answering his cell phone during dinner. He has a high demand job and is in what seems like constant contact with work but isn’t that’s why there is voice mail? He took it to heart and let’s it ring now.
I have had to have the same conversation with my husband and he’s working on not answering his phone during dinner. It’s a hard habit to break for some!
What great questions – and just as useful for grandparents who have grandkids visiting for dinner. Sometimes the conversation can go a mile a minute but other times, especially as our grandkids get older, it can be harder to find things to discuss. These are a great help. Another useful resource is at Everyday Truth dot net where she is posting a monthly list of dinner discussions. I’m saving all of those – and now these – in my Evernote in a file on dinner chats. 🙂 Here’s the full link if you’d like to check out the other discussions. You may have to start it with www – everydaytruth.net/2012/06/05/june-dinner-discussions/ Thanks for the great ideas and resource!
I grew up the same way. Dinner was always at 6 pm. When we were older, my parents encouraged us to choose our activities wisely so that we didn’t impede on too much family time. They encouraged us to find jobs that didn’t interrupt this time either. We managed to do it pretty well too. My husband came from a home where they ate meals in front of the TV. Even after 11 years of marriage he still has a hard time sometimes remembering that we eat as a family. We don’t have a set time for dinner, but that’s because my husband’s work hours vary. Instead, we look at our schedule for the week when I make my dinner menu before I grocery shop and plan what time we’ll be eating on what night. My husband isn’t always there for dinner because some nights he has to work the night shift, which starts at 4 pm, but I still have the kids and I sit down to a home-cooked meal when he’s not home. Like you, I always assumed that all families did this when I was growing up and was a bit taken aback when I learned that we were among the few who did this.
Recently I took a college nutrition class and one of our assignments was to do a PowerPoint presentation about a topic related to the topic of nutrition. My topic of choice, as a mom of 2 young sons, was the family supper. What I found amazed me! Not only were the meals themselves healthier, but the children had lower drug & alcohol use/abuse rates. They are significantly less likely to be in an abusive relationship. Much less likely to be sexually active before marriage. Higher academic achievement. They are more likely to approach a parent for help when there is a problem or concern. Also, all family members were more likely to have a spiritual and emotional connection to each other. It really is the most important hour of the day!
We also put a high emphasis on family dinners. We eat lunch and dinner at the table every day (my hubby can usually come home for lunch but if not, it’s the children and I)…we don’t want them to get used to eating w/ the TV or whatever.
When I was growing up, dinner at the table was a rare occurence and I wanted to make it a priority for our family 🙂
I was blessed to also grow up in a home where we ate dinner together every night at the table. Most of the time it was home cooked but during the busy teen years in might come from the Golden Arches. No matter where the food came I looked forward to dinner time every night. I’m keeping that tradition in my own family now and like you my husband didn’t experience this growing up so it’s been fun sharing this special time with him!
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for hosting the Wednesday Hop. I also grew up in a home where family meals were a ritual. With a busy, commuting husband and teenagers, we are less likely to all be around the table for dinner nightly, although there is always a proper meal waiting, and at least one or two to sit at table (even if everyone’s not eating. Dinner is social.) Weekends have become sacred. We are always at table together on Saturdays and Sundays. Breakfast before church is something we didn’t always do as a family growing up, but is now something we count on.
Peace and good to you.
Hi Courtney! Thank you for this post! I didn’t grow up in a Christian home and my family ate around the TV every night. But God is good, and now, we are raising a Christian family and we eat dinner at the table! My husband’s job means he is away for dinner a couple nights a week, but my kids and I still eat together! Love it!
I loved this post. When we were raising our children; we had most of our meals together. However during their teens it became harder to have set time. I know that families of today are not doing this enough and I think it is very important in developing good family relationships.
Thanks, for this one!
Where can I get the Focus on the Family dinner wheel? I can’t seem to find it on their website 🙁
Valeska – I’m sorry – I received my wheel at a conference and I’m not sure if they sell them or not – but here is a link to their website where they give a very long and extensive list of conversation starters that you can print for free!!
http://www.focusonthefamily.ca/parenting/mealtime-questions/mealtime-questions
🙂
What a lovely tradition — one that your children will cherish not only now, but as they grow up and do the same with their own families!
Thanks for the great post & for hosting the linkup, and God bless!
Laurie
We always ate breakfast and supper together; never knew we had a choice…because we didn’t! -smile- We lose a lot as individuals, as family and as society when we allow others to dictate our lives. When the make choices, according to God’s purpose and plan, our lives are more holy, our time more precious, our memories more sacred.
I also grew up eating dinner at 5:30pm. My husband does not usually get home from work until later than that, so we eat at 7:00pm. The most important part is not the time on the clock, but the fact that we eat together every evening as a family. Then we go for a walk.
I loved your post! Dinner time together, talking is so important! I didn’t have that as a child growing up and am trying to make sure we do have that in our home. Thanks for the reminder of how important this is!
Blessings, ~Aunt Mae
Love this. It totally sounds like me and my husband growing up. I had a family like yours Courtney while your husband was more like mine. I am thankful that we have a choice whether to have the TV on or not. I get tired of hearing the noise all of the time and most of the time I would rather have it off.. I like to read, study my Bible or do something else. Thanks for posting and hosting. Please check out my blog. I redesigned it recently. Thanks.
This is lovely. Unfortunately for me, my husband works second shift and I work third shift. While our son is at school, I’m sleeping and when he comes home his father has already gone to work and I’m usually leaving for work soon after. Right now, with me having been off work these last 7 weeks, we’ve been eating our main meal at 11 am. During the school year, we try to eat meals together on weekends.
We have a similar game–It’s called The Art of Conversation for Kids. They are card sized and have questions on them. We also do it as a reward for being ready early before school, which is a challenge at our house.
Growing up, my mom constantly answered the phone during mealtime. Even in the middle of conversations with us kids. It made me feel less important. I’m not a mother, but I promised myself that when I am, I will not make a phone call top priority. To me, it’s valuable to have this special time to communicate with each other. When I have my own family, I desire all of us sitting down, praying and giving thanks for our blessings, and enjoying each other’s company. Thank you for the mealtime questions. I’m saving those for the future.