This photo is missing some the kids (they were off running around downstairs) & Dan (he was working). It is always wild, crazy and loud. Last night there were 9 adults and all 10 kids. Not even "man-to-man" kid coverage, we had to resort to a "zone" defense. Thankfully most of the kiddos were in the basement playing most of the time. :-) Made for a fairly peaceful evening. Only a few tears. MOM, you have OCD, you polish the floors waaaay too much, the little ones are slipping & sliding all over the place! The floors do not have to, as Miss Hannigan would say "Shine like the top of the Chrysler Building"! seriously...Anyway - back to Sunday Dinner...
We see my family all the time (b-day parties, holidays, out at Woodcliff Lake), but it has been quite a while since we have had our traditional "Sunday dinner" gathering around the table.
Growing up, I'm sure you can imagine, we had a VERY busy household! Us four girls were barely home it seemed, as we went from one activity to another. We all played a lot of sports throughout our school years. Not to mention both my parents worked full time & bless their hearts, NEVER missed a game basketball game, volleyball game, track meet or whatever other activity we had going on. (on a side note and this is a completely separate blog topic, I could not imagine not having my parents in the crowd watching & cheering for me at ALL my games, or present at my school activities, it just would not have been the same)...anyway - because our family was always on the run, It was rare that we would be able to sit down and eat dinner as a family during the week, we'd typically just have to fend for ourselves.
But, on Sundays, we could always count on one of mom's large home-cooked meals. I knew this was special, as many families I knew hardly ever even utilized their dining room tables, let alone actually sat around them all together...I had a few friends (Erin, you know who you are :) who would also join us for Sunday dinner on occasion, but I think I did take these dinners for granted, at least until I left for college. By this point my 3 older sisters had also moved out of the house, but they would still come "home" to Waterloo for Sunday dinner at mom & dads house. I just went to Midland Lutheran College, only 20 minutes away from home. I lived on campus the first two years and lived in a house off campus with 4 girlfriends the last two years. I was also very active and involved in campus life, I was in a sorority, played basketball, was busy with various journalism programs and practicums, was in several clubs and had a few jobs (oh yeah, I went to class on occasion too. :) So with all these college activities I, like most college students, probably would not have made it back home too frequently. But this was NOT the case for me. What kind of broke college student would turn down a "free" home-cooked meal. Not me, that's for sure! I also, "stole" several other items from mom & dads fridge, milk, butter, bread, toilet paper, shampoo, and other various necessities that you need, but hated to spend your limited, hard-earned money on back then. On the way out the door and back to Fremont, I'd give them a hug/kiss good-bye, and my famous last words were, "oh btw - you're out of bread, or something else I that I had taken the "last of". tehe!!! THANKS MOM & DAD! HAHA
So, in conclusion, I hope our family still continues to gather for Sunday dinners at mom & dad's house, at least on occasion! It is very much a goal for me to continue to carry on this "Sunday Dinner" tradition with my small branch of the family as well! I want my girls, when they get older to appreciate the same kind of small things that I appreciate ... for example, something as little as Sunday Dinners :-)
Below are a couple other "Sunday Dinners" from several years ago that I just happened to have photos of:
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