We are an unusual family by today's standards in the fact that we eat dinner together every night as well as lunch on the weekends. My son is Autistic, and routine and predictability are two things that help keep him functional and stable, so these little facts of daily life go a long way towards his well being. However, 3 times a year dinner together is not possible, so I came up with a new tradition years ago to keep him from freaking out - the Love Dinner. On those rare nights when daddy must be gone, we get to eat things that daddy does not like and it is served by candlelight. Over the years it has been so succesful that when he hears about an upcoming event where dad must be gone, he gets all excited and talks about "our Love Dinner". It cracks me up ! In the past we have had Blue Box mac and cheese or pasta or so on, and it is always served by candlelight. Sparkling conversations happen, such as why Spongebob is fun to watch, how to win at Super Smash Brothers or even why Yugio is cooler than the Power Rangers. In short, I date my son and it goes a long way to keeping us close. I love it !Last night's dinner was something that was on program for the both of us , and featured a food daddy does not like- peas.
We made brown rice, frozen peas and topped it with fat freecheese, and served it with raw veggies and black olives on the side instead of our usual salad and side vegetable. Think Mac and cheese but on a healthier level. It was actually pretty good, and we may try it again for lunch.
Still continuing with the ab work and the cleaning. I am noticing one almost immediate benefit from the ab work in the form of greater bladder control . While this may be TMI for some, it seems that many women as they get older develop problems in this area. The standard advice is kegel exercises. I have tried these and for what ever reason they make no difference. Perhaps one of thed factors in this is different muscles that hold th bladder in place or even a decrease in blood flow that keeps the muscles properly oxygenated and fully responsive. I don't know, but I will certainly take this nice side benefit
2 comments:
Awe, what a sweet idea! Your son is so blessed to have such a wonderful mom!
Looks like my family is in the same boat as you guys. We also eat dinner every night together as a family. If my hubby has to work late, then we eat late. Plain and simple. My daughter and I also enjoy lunch together every day while dad's at work. It's just something we have done from the beginning.
But, I can definitely see what you mean about it being unusual in today's world. My daughter's friends are so amazed that we do this. To them, it's so foreign and for us, just so natural.
I wouldn't trade this time with my family for anything in the world.
I love that we can all be together for dinner. Son and i are together for lunch and breakfast as well, and usually Saturday mornings we all have breakfast together as well. I think with homeschool families there is an easier time doing the family dinner thing because of a lot less commitments.
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