[KevinB]

In traditional conservative households, the meal is the MOST important event of the day. It is a time where family members can relax, talk about their day and life. It is a time where you can share experiences, stories, laugh, cry and just have fun all within a safe protective environment.

Ha, I spent seventeen years eating dinner at the table with my father, mother and two brothers and not a word was ever spoken.

[ExTxMarine]

That’s SAD! My wife and I raised four daughters. Even when Nintendo was the hottest ticket, then phones and then computers...at dinner, TV OFF, phones OFF, computers OFF...we sat at the table as a family, we talked about our days, about life, we joked. At least one night a week was family night and we played board games or video games together - ALL OF US.

Was it always bells and whistles? Of course not, not family, marriage or relationship is, but we worked to be a close, loving family. All four of my daughters are grown, two married, one engaged, one divorced. All have children of their own and they all have family nights.

I grew up in a house where my mother ate in the living room, watching TV. My step dad ate at the kitchen table and I ate in my room or somewhere else and we couldn’t get further away from one another...and it felt like it too. My wife is a Latina woman, so her family and family meals (ANY MEAL) is the most important time to spend with each other. We decided early on that we didn’t want to pass MY family tradition on to our kids.

I think this article is TRYING to say that bonding moments happen around food and family - IF YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN. Otherwise it is just sustenance and $2 protein bar can solve your belly hunger, but it won’t help make/maintain a marriage or family.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Are you from Pennsylvania?