Family Moment Memories

One of the most difficult things we have found to accomplish is to gather together as a family in one place at one time. When our college children know what day they will be home, we begin to plan a time for all of us to gather together and spend some time just with the six of us. No TV, no phone, no computers, no friends; just us as a family, together in one place. It can be a lot of fun but it can also be a strange forced feeling.

Last year, when the oldest two were coming home for Thanksgiving break, I wanted to have first thing some family time alone. We set up Tuesday evening, as the time we would make just family time. I also wanted to avoid the blank empty stares sometimes we get, as we struggle to talk about more than the basics of how life was going. So I planned the time, where we would all be required to work together, to get the meal ready. We would have a three-course fondue meal. We had no food prepared early. The preparation is what we would do together. We would prepare the food, cook it, and eat it together. I had hoped it would be a three or four hour event. It would give us plenty to do with our hands. If we did not have much to say, we could at least work on the meal. No dead empty air space filling the room at this gathering.

It worked. Everyone was talking, laughing, making a mess, making fun of each other’s preparations, and just being a family. It was not a perfect ‘Cleaver’ family moment, in fact, it may have been more like the Osborne’s, but it was special and they did feel what I wanted them to feel. We are a family forever. They still talk about it now. As they are leaving for college this week they were asking if we were going to do another fondue meal when they get home. I don’t know if we will do that exact same thing again but we will make every effort to replicate some wonderful family moment for them and for us.

This Fall will be another transition for us. We will have three in college this year, two Juniors and a Freshman. Before they leave for school this week, we spent time last night, together, as a family. It was a fun evening. I will share it with you in tomorrows posting.