Blessings and Spilled Dressing...

As much as I love to cook, sometimes it just gets really old. It's hard coming up with easy, and delicious meals that the whole family will enjoy. I like being creative with my meal planning but I often find myself in a rut or just kind of burned out with the thing.

Having dinner together as a family has been something we've always done. Coming together at the end of the day and being able to hear about everyone's day is important to me. The T.V. gets turned off, the music goes on and we just eat, talk and laugh. There are nights when hardly a word is said but that's okay because there is the freedom to be silent.

So tonight we were all going to have dinner together, as a family. I was looking forward to all of us being together. I had everything planned and ready to go.

Our kitchen has recently been remodeled and I have to say this truly is my dream kitchen. We live in a parsonage and basically our whole house has been updated and remodeled. This kitchen is more than I ever imagined it being. God has blessed us in so many ways in providing this home for us. In our previous home, all five of us had a very difficult time being in the kitchen.  I hoped for a kitchen one day where we could be together, where the kids could help me prepare the meals, and more than anything a place to hang out with friends and family. We now have that and after ten months of living here I am still thanking Him every time I'm in there.

My "family dinner" didn't go the way I was hoping it would however. My daughter arrived home late from work so she wasn't able to join us. When she did get home she was off to a youth group meeting. That's one thing I'm adjusting to and to be honest it's really, really hard. As much as I would like for us to have dinner every night together, it just doesn't happen. Her presence is missed at the table, it just doesn't feel right. What will it be like when she is at college next year? I know I will get used to it and I know I will have a much harder time with it than she ever will. I'm just working my way through it before that time is even here.

So, the four of us sit down to eat. My husband says grace and the food passing begins. This is when I want everything and everybody to slow down. I want meaningful conversation and for us to enjoy one another's company. You would think after so long I would let my expectations go, but I haven't. I want table manners to be used, no complaining about what's on your plate, and I don't want to ask one more time for help with the clean-up. 

We have passed almost all of the food when of course the inevitable happens. My youngest son, Ben, begins to shake the jar of salad dressing. Can you guess what happens next? The cap flies off and the dressing splatters on the floor, table, and the front of my shirt. Oh, how I wish I would have been able to laugh at the time and take a picture for your enjoyment. I think I can laugh about it now, maybe. What I do know is that I didn't lose it. My husband and son were quick to clean up and dinner continued... without any other mishaps and dinner was a hit.

 Dinner is over, the kitchen is clean and even though it was only part of the family tonight, there will be many other nights when we gather around the table, the five of us. Looks like maybe Thursday, I'll let you know.