Preserving the Family Table
Courthouse Collections began partially because of the encouragement of loved ones; partially for the fun of it; partially for my own good.
I need reminders to stay the course when the demands of the world begin to interfere or require more of my family’s time and attention—especially during the dinner hours.
As the children grow, extra-curricular activities are no longer morning story times before naps. Now activities have become evening practices and lessons that fall right at dinnertime.
At our house, we don’t want to give up the anchor that is our dinner table. At least we don’t want to trade it for anything old thing— especially if those things divide up our family.
The table has been a value we have held dear for over a decade and it just doesn’t make sense to substitute it for ballet practice or soccer matches.
So, how do we do it?
We really struggle to find our way in this area. In the past we were eager for our children to experience and try everything they can in order to discover what they like. Yet with every enrollment we commit to after school the more staggered our eating times became. The more frequently we found ourselves eating fast and on-the-go.
After several attempts to find our way in keeping our dinner table anchored one pillar we erected was family activities instead of allowing everyone to do independent activities. This alone has streamlined our schedule. Plus, now we get time to play, share new experiences and learn new skills together. All the while, we are home in time for meals.
The next pillar we constructed was saying no to doing more and yes to our family. This creates margin for us to nurture family friendships, host and continue extending invitations for community. It keeps us at the table and creates belonging and identity in one another instead of in what we do.
The next pillar, was wiggle room. We aren’t hard and fast about the actual time we eat supper as long as everyone is there. If, for a semester or year, there is a night in the week we may have to have an earlier or later dinner to accommodate activities, we do it! The aim is to have dinner with all of us when we can; as much as we can.
The final pillar we decided as a family was to always raise our hand and volunteer our home for fellowship. We love being with people most of all. Since dinner invitations are farther and fewer, we decided not to wait for invitations but to be the ones to extend them. Although there are plenty of playdates and such we don’t want to let dinner to fall to the wayside. We want our table to remain set.
Courthouse Collections helps me pushback on the rampant cycle of breaking up the table, faster food, and our family going a thousand different directions. It’s my hope to forcibly draw the reins back and find a slow trot aside the race track.