Sunday Night Dinners

The first Sunday of each month, my mom and dad have a big family dinner. I'm so lucky to have virtually all of my close extended family (grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins) within an hour's drive (most much less than that). As a kid, I didn't think it was so great. Not that I wanted to get rid of any of them, it's just that I was always envious of friends at school who got to go on trips to faraway exotic places like Atlanta or Chicago to visit relatives. Now, I realize what an incredible blessing it is to have my family so close.

Even with everyone living in the same area, it still seems hard to find the time to get together. It used to be that an entire month could slip by and I'd realize I hadn't once been by to visit either of my grandmothers, who only live about 10 minutes away. I would feel awful about it and vow to do better, but time always seemed to slip by and the same thing would happen again. So this year, my mom started our new tradition, designating the first Sunday of every month as family dinner night. Sometimes it takes discipline and committment to forge new traditions. It's all too easy to keep putting things off and end up forgetting about them altogether. But back in January, my mom printed out a list of all the dates and we marked our calendars for the whole year. The week before, she emails a reminder to everyone. Generally, we have about 20-25 people at each dinner. Everything is really casual: potluck, buffet style. My mom and dad provide the main course and the drinks and everyone else brings side dishes and desserts. These simple dinners have become something to look forward to at the beginning of each month, the opportunity to visit with family and stay caught up on the happenings in each others' lives.

I really cherish my family and feel so blessed to have such a huge support system. Instead of having to struggle to find a babysitter, I have grandmothers and aunts calling me up and ordering me to go out for the afternoon so they can babysit Katie Mae! I'm so proud of my mom for making the effort necessary to keep our family connected. It is definitely worth it!