Wisdom Prevails

Every Wednesday morning, a group of us tennis players get in 1 1/2 hours of play before work.  I called a 70 year old, fantastic player to sub for me this Weds. a.m. as I had a USTA tennis match to play later in the day.  His response, "Ginny I'm already playing Weds. a.m. and I too have a match to play later in the day.  Go ahead and play- it will be a good warm-up."  So I'm thinking this will be tough- extra effort, energy and planning but if he can do it, maybe I can too.  Wednesday turned out to be one of my most memorable days of tennis.  The early morning play was a blast- great points, fun opponents.  The match proved to be one of my most challenging and most rewarding wins.  Once again, the extra effort, energy and planning gave me big rewards.  The question has never been,"Does family dinnertime belong in our daily routine," but "How can I get myself organized to put it on the table?" If I can do it, you can too.  Let wisdom prevail- try cooking co-op.

Keep it Simple- Learn from Apollo 13

Plastic bags, cardboard and duct tape were simple elements used to solve the large and complex problem of getting the crippled Apollo 13 back to earth.  Dinnertime is the simple element which could and should be used in everyone's day to solve many of our country's complex problems.  As NASA Flight Director Eugene Kranz said: "Okay,people!  Listen up!... From this moment on we are improvising a new mission..."  Start a cooking co-op ASAP as your new mission to ensure 4 or more mealtimes with family/ friends every week, every season, seated at your table, at home, TV off.  The magic of the dinner table has worked throughout history.  Start this summer by exchanging a main meal such as chicken pot pie, chicken caesar salad, hamburgers with all the fixings etc.  Remember 4 families work best.  Order my video and you will see how it all works.   Then in the fall, fill in the main dish with 2 sides.  Work your own ingenuity and dinnertime engineering to solve life's problems.

To contact me: ginny.bowie@mynight2cook.com

Ordinary Happiness

In his new book "Seven Pleasures" Willard Spiegelman writes: "Happiness has received less respect and less serious attention than melancholy, its traditional opposite."  One theme of his book is that ordinariness can bring about more pleasure than we realize.  The striving for happiness in our society can cause us to overlook the riches of the familiar and ordinary.  C.S. Lewis in grieving the death of his wife Joy describes his desire for "the tiny heartbreaking commonplace."  Yesterday was Mother's Day and my favorite part was the traditional brunch my family assembles - all were there.  My daughter working in NYC came home and daughter #2 just finished her college exams.  Just to hear all the commotion in the kitchen with my husband directing 2 young women and a teenage son to get the meal prepared and on the table was priceless!  Then we sat around our formal dining table with family and 2 roommates from UVA talking and laughing.  Perhaps the secret to happiness is slowing down enough to find that the most common, ordinary events, like sitting at the dinner table, is surprisingly rich... for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

Bill Gates Learns Life Lessons at the Dinner Table

FRONT  PAGE of the Wall Street Journal April 25-26 is an interview with Bill Gates Sr., Bill Gates and their family who share for the first time many details of " what it took to turn an unruly 12-year-old into Microsoft's billionaire founder."  FIRST STORY and family crisis which helped shape the entrepreneur's character happened at  the dinner table.  Bill Gates who at 12 had "appeared to gain the intellect of an adult almost overnight" shouted rude and sarcastic remarks at his mother at the dinner table.  Mr. Gates Sr., in a rare blast of temper, threw the glass of water in his son's face."  "Thanks for the shower," replied the young Bill Gates.  As a result of the argument, the parents more carefully crafted discipline and freedom into Bill Gates early teenage years, which partially lead to his early interest in computers.  Even once Bill Gates started Microsoft, he attended weekly Sunday dinners at his parent's home.  Bill Gates Sr. wrote the FIRST  foundation check from the kitchen(dinner) table. Yes, there can be quality discussions between family members in the car, but not very safe to throw water in the face of an out-of-control youth.  The dynamics of the dinner table are enduring!