I just read a guest post over at Clover Lane about being the best parent one can be. One of the author's criteria was eating at least one meal together as a family.
I thought, Hey we do that!
Yay us!
The Agronomist and I must be GREAT PARENTS!
In her post she referred to a Time magazine article called The Magic of the Family Meal. It stated that families who eat together build vocabulary, learn how to problem solve, listen to other people's interests and concerns, all while learning to respect other people's tastes. Simply, these families were happier and well adjusted.
Not to mention families that eat together are also healthier.
I know what you're thinking, I do. You're thinking, mm hmm, nachos, like that is healthy? Let me just say that those nachos are baked, and that cheese is made with skim milk, so don't go judging a nacho by it's...well just don't go judging.
Plus I served lima beans too, although those didn't go over so well. How do I know this?
The girls began reciting lines from the classic children's book, Alexander and the Terrible-Horrible-No Good-Very Bad Day. which states that lima beans are a good reason to move to Australia.
My girls seemed to agree.
So, now that we have the healthy all squared away, lets take a look at the listening to other people and respecting their tastes, shall we?
Eldest: Did you know Taylor Swift won ya da, ya da, and more ya da at the Grammy's last night? I watched her on youtube and she had on a really pretty sparkly blue dress.
Middle: What did the dress look like?
Eldest: It...was...blue...and ...sparkly...
I looked over at The Agronomist who's eyes began to glaze over.
Youngest: Yeah, she said it was blue and sparkly.
Middle: Noooo, I mean what was the dress LIKE? Like, A-line. . . Cocktail. . .
A movement caught my eye.
I looked over at The Agronomist, who was pretending to poke his right eye out with a fork.
Eldest: It was a sweetheart neckline, and it had off the shoulder sleeves. . .
He then proceeded to mime gouging out his left eyeball.
". . . And I think it was a mermaid style. . ."
Next it was his right ear.
The table became quiet as the girls finally noticed The Agronomist, who was now pretending to stab himself in the back.
He froze.
And in the quiet of the moment The Agronomist stated,
"I need a beer,"
pause...
"And a big screen TV to watch hockey. . .
The girls started to laugh, The Agronomist, not so much.
So as was illustrated here, just like the Time's stated, a family who eats together is definitely happier and well adjusted. (although some have to be adjusted more than others)
So funny!! My kids are little, so it's easy for us to eat every meal together (we have no plans..... ever! HA) but they consist of my four year old daughter talking 99.98% of the time. I guess we need to work on the art of conversation, where more than one person gets to say something.
ReplyDeletehaha! hilarious. my husband just goes ahead and brings his favorite brew to the table. it's easier that way.
ReplyDeleteWe ate together as a family until, well, the kids are teens and our kitchen doesn't exist right now. And we are just soooo well adjusted, oh yes, well adjusted! But we do like each other, so I guess that's something. Thanks for visiting my blog and I'm adding you to my blogreader - love your writing style.
ReplyDeletep.s. I hate lima beans, just saying. And brussel sprouts.
That is too funny! We try to sit down and eat a family meal too. Taylor Swift didn't end up in our conversation but we did talk about teachers we didn't like !
ReplyDeleteWe don't like lima beans either but my kids LOVE edamame!
Of course, why didn't I think of edamame, (steamed with sea salt.) Thanks for reminding me. To be fair the lima beans were part of a frozen veggie selection and the lima beans were left to the side on every plate.
ReplyDeletePoint well made sister! Heeeheehe. Sounds like some of our dinner meals.
ReplyDeleteYa'll have a fantastically blessed day!!!
Your dinner table conversation had me laughing out loud and now I'm craving nachos!
ReplyDeleteToo funny!! Loved the hubby's antics.
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With my two oldest, both daughters, grown and gone, I now have only my two guys remaining at the dinner table. How do I get them to talk AND eat their vegetables?
ReplyDeleteLoved your post. I felt like I was right there at your kitchen table, listening in and maybe, like the Agronomist, desiring a beer.
Remember to pull the same moves the next time the Agronomist starts to wax poetic about soil samples...
ReplyDeleteGood point Megan! I will have to replay this drama in reverse.
ReplyDeleteHa! We struggle with this. Partially because ours are still little (3 and 10 mos) so feeding them is really difficult to do while eating at the same time. And mostly because DH likes to eat while sitting on the couch and watching TV. I make him sit at the table whenever possible, but he will peek his head around at the TV sometime until I make him turn it off. Then he sulks. But the 3 yr old chastises him about it now, too, so I'm not the only one! Unfortunately, the 10 mo old has started craning her neck to get a peek, too. Sigh..... (Stumbled Upon you from Liz's BlogFrog!)
ReplyDeleteLOL!! sounds like dinner at our house!
ReplyDeleteThat is hilarious! My husband felt the same way the other day when my daughter and I had a 30 minute conversation about Anne of Green Gables.
ReplyDeleteMuahha! I just stumbled this. Very funny. My husband often looks like he's about to poke himself in the eye at dinner. Of course, our dinner conversation relates mostly to my son talking about burps and farts and not Taylor Swift. :)
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! Oh sooo familiar. I love it!
ReplyDelete