Come Dine with Me

Just settling again after a week away from work and with family. Our eldest has just left and no 2 goes back tomorrow.

A few thoughts about one of the things I've been pondering - eating together

One of the things that has often been discarded to the busyness of life for me has been meal times. The crumbs between the keys of the keyboard and in the creases of the passenger seat of the car are some testimony of that at work. When I sit at the table at home to eat I too often consume the food like something urgent might come up and I'll not get a chance to eat again for an indeterminate time. We (L and I) joke that this is a hangover from our days as houseofficers on call in the hospital when this was true, really it's not been true for too long and we should learn a better way.

This week we have all been home from work and university and as we now disperse and refocus we'll remember our walks and our meals (though less likely the food). When I look back on our lives as family, I can remember lazy meals on holidays, sometimes at home and with friends where we have been able to connect with each other around food at the table. At best we've found a respect for one another, much laughter, made our best plans, debated and argued lifes big and small questions, found our voices and our ears, dared to share our dreams and celebrated each other as well as others...... and remembered too. There have been times of difficulty, sometimes caused by weariness, hurt, but mostly by rushing and not listening, only wanting to be heard. We have a chance to do it again better if we keep sharing meals together and maybe find grace and restoration in that.

There is something about sharing a meal at the table that is equalising, we all come with the same need to eat and to connect. OK someone gets to choose the food to bring, but then that person also in preparation submits to the others in service.

In our current culture where the home is the place of TV, games consoles, "personal"computers, tablets, "smart" phones, (they are all banned from our meals) time away from the table can diminish attentiveness to one another. I resolve to restore myself to the table more mindfully and wholeheartedly as a place for more than food for the body, a sacred place where we can all truly meet and not just on holidays.