Monday, May 21, 2012

Up and Atom

That was the title of the women's leadership fundraising initiative in which 400 women came together at the Science Museum of Virginia for breakfast this week.  I had the opportunity to hear Naomi Vickers, a 7th grade student from St. Catherine's School speak on "Why I love the Science Musuem?"  I had a tear in my eye as her curiousity, intelligence and humor were on display.  She described how the visual exhibitions of science stimulated her ability to learn and understand and made it fun.  So to test out one of my theories, I went up to her mother afterwards, congratulated her on her daughter's talk and asked if they ate dinner together as a family. Her immediate response was "Yes- all the time and it started with my mother who is over there."  So I go and speak with Naomi's grandmother.  She told me she had been a career woman but she wanted to hear from her children the exciting events of the day.  And she could "catch it all at the dinner table."  She added there was no TV on and that she always regulated TV time.  She added that "some things need to be constant."  Let me add that Naomi, her mother and grandmother are beautiful, fit and trim- a picture of a lovely family wise in knowing what's most important on any schedule for the day.  Let the family dinner hour be a constant in your home and see what blossoms

Monday, May 14, 2012

What's Right With This Picture? - A Table of 8

I recently had the priviledge to visit a very special family in Lexington, KY for a very special occasion.  The night before the special occasion, 8 of us sat around a kitchen table for 2 hours laughing, telling tales, discussing world events - enjoying a memorable evening.  Sandra had planned a wonderful meal- baked cranberry chicken, baked rice, asparagus, and salad finished off with daughter Laura's apple, blueberry dump cake a la mode.  As I watched David, crying with laughter at the banter of his 2 daughters, Laura and Becca, I took a vivid mental picture of this Norman Rockwell experience.  How would our country be different if this picture of a family around the kitchen table was the norm?   The next day, Becca was one of 4 given the Distinguished Alumni Engineering Award by the University of KY.  She also received a plaque from the governor who bestowed her with the title "Kentucky Colonel."  What's right with this picture?

Marathon Sports and Family Meals

May is the month for marathons.  I was playing singles in a USTA tennis match. The match started at 6 pm.  Every point, we exchanged 20 hits, it was hot, and my opponent was a lefty.  I won the first set, she won the 2nd set, we change sides in the middle of the tie-breaker and I told her I would hate to know what time it was.  She informed me it was 8:55 pm.  A 3 hour marathon.  I went on to win the tie-breaker and our team won the whole match 3-2!  Then I read the Orioles beat the Red Sox in a 17 inning marathon baseball game which took more than 6 hours to play, 17 innings, both teams went through their 8 pitchers and had to finnish the game with a positional player pitching.  When you are the only one on the tennis court facing an opponent or you are on the pitcher's mound staring down the batter, you have to   go through a mental check list.  Serve to her backhand, remember she is a lefty, move your feet, keep your eye on the ball, imagine winning the point.  And in a marathon, you repeat these mind games over, and over, and over.  The same mental toughness is required for consistently bringing your family together for dinnertime- the planning ahead to have the right ingredients on hand, refusing to take no for an answer (all three of my children played sports and we still consistently had dinners together), the determination to save money and calories by eating at home vs. the let's eat out option, and remembering the joy, laughter , and important discoveries(so you have a big test in chemistry tomorrow?) that come from sitting around your own kitchen table.  So it's mmm(marathons, meals, mind games- not hunger games) - good!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Save a Life With Family Dinners

ABC News reports that Mark Zuckerberg's of Facebook fame came up with his latest idea of using Facebook's "health and wellness" section to include a status and discussion of organ donation over conversations at the dinner table with his girlfriend who is a student in medical school.  So family dinners are MORE important than Facebook!  I found statements from his interview reminding all of us just how important family dinners are:  "Facebook is really about communicating and telling stories..." and that is what makes family dinners vital to a family's well-being and a nation's health.  "We want to make it simple."  Putting dinner on the table has never in history been more simple to do with all the short cut, cost savings and buying/cooking in quantiy opportunities.  "More than 112,000 Americans are awaiting organs..."  How many Americans do you think are out there that are awaiting a loving family meal?  The article describes Zuckerberg as "...lighting up when talking about the dinnertime chats he had with his girlfriend."  That is precisely what has happend to family and friends throughout history while breaking bread. And notice, this idea did not come about while eating out at a restaurant.  It happend over the dinner table.    The importance of hearth and home which is more cosy, private and relaxing.  So maybe to better market family dinnertime- let's call it FACETIME!