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Memories of my years of being at the family table when I was young and what it represented to me was about togetherness. A time to reflect back on the days events and joke and laugh about them all. A chance to do my part in the family ritual of preperation. The feeling of adding something to the families dining experience.

Being the youngest of ten kids, dinner and sitting at the same table was always a challenge. Mother would fix my plate and sit it to the side to make sure I had my serving. In return, I helped set the table for the crowded event that unfolded each time the family sat down at the table.

Once prayer was said, the feeding frenzy ensued. Platters of fried chicken disapeared, bowls of mashed potatoes and string beans evaporated right before our eyes. The food that bonded us also made us closer as a whole family. Sweet tea and a slice of moms apple pies to cap off the end of another pleasing meal.

Growing up on a farm it is easier to understand the family concept at meal time. The closeness of family, bonds you at meal time. This has been a fact in years past, when eventually family members gradually move out, to start their own families.

Even after kids move out, they will still be coming back for Sunday dinners after church, or for the cook outs. It is important to every one to congregate back to the fold of the family, if only through visiting once a week.

Todays busy schedules of families have us going in many different directions at once. The family bonding has suffered, due to a family atmosphere at meal time. Fast food restaurants and kids busy schedules with friends and with many Moms and Dads working to make ends meet,it has scattered the traditional family meal time around the world.

In todays society we try to understand why the family does not function. It is because we do not take the time to sit down and listen during meal time. Meal time is not for just feeding the body, it feeds the soul of everyone around the table.

Talking and eating are essential for communication of family members. It is the one time when a family has the chance to function as a unit and this has deteriorated over the years.

The closeness of family has been put on the back burner due to work and friends of the kids busy life style. The Family unit is not recognized any more as a means to promote togetherness.

I remember the many Sundays in my past childhood, when family members came to dinner. The grown ups would sit around the table and talk and the kids would venture to the outside, for a game of football. The adult kids would often stay right through dinner, laughing and just being together. Often they would be there for supper before finally leaving to go home.

It is so sad today! You do not see this as much in families. The spirit of meal time and the enjoyment of family conversation between siblings. The biggest family value has disappeared and we need to get it back.

Learn more about this author, Rex Coker.
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