Pass The Conversation
Since my husband and I have become empty nesters mealtime has changed for us. I don't cook big meals as often as I used to and we have lots more left-overs. Our mealtime is fairly quiet, a nice time for us to catch up with our day's events.
I do miss the spirited conversation that we used to have when our three children were gathered around the supper table with us. They'd share snippets of their day--often funny anecdotes about friends, teachers or how their particular sport practice went. We sometimes tried to help solve each other's problems. Sometimes we didn't all agree on issues and sometimes some of us were a little moody! But it was a time for us all to connect as family.
Now that we have grandchildren sharing meals with us some of the spirited conversation is returning. A three year-old's perspective on things can be very entertaining! We don't mind the spilled milk or crumbs on the floor! We are connecting with a new generation of family.
I read about a website that has something to help families that don't have much lively table talk. You can go to www.earthdinner.org. They have developed "creativity cards". They are printed with food-focused conversation starters like "What foods did your grandparents eat when they were your age?" (You can download free black-and-white versions).
Thankfully, our family will not have to resort to those conversation starters. We seem to have enough interesting conversations when we get together. I'm looking forward to the holidays when my children and grandchildren will all be together and we can connect once again.
Before you sit down to that meal use some of Gathered From The Garden's wonderful foaming hand soap or hand sanitizers. You can find these at gatheredfromthegardenll.4t.com