Since I can remember, basically every week day night our family has had dinner together at the dinner table. Even with the chaos that surrounded our childhood years, my parents always managed to schedule dinner as a family each night. It wasn’t something forced upon us, it just happened, it was our normal routine.

Because me and my siblings are older now and don’t all live at home, family dinners occur as often as possible, but definitely not as routinely as they once were. But tonight, as we completed our first family dinner (that everyone was in attendance for) in about a month, I realized the appreciation I now have for these simple dinners.

Although there is the obvious reasons I love it— mom’s good cooking, endless plates of food, and being home with my family. There’s so many other little reasons I’m appreciative of this time.

I’m appreciative of it because no matter what is going on at that point in my life, the second I sit down at the table, nothing else seems to matter. Everything stressful seems less demanding, all my difficult situations seem less complicated, and everything I was worried about just seems less worrisome. It’s hard to explain how and why this happens, but it just does. All I care about is being there in that moment. My phone is always put away (I wouldn’t dare take it out at the dinner table) and so are my problems.

I get to share my day with all the people I love the most and even better, I get to hear about their day and we get to share our lives with one another. We talk about mutual friends, we compare what Southern Miss was like when my siblings were there, we make fun of my dad’s weird habits, we mock my mom, we share food, and we share stories. We laugh a lot and we yell even more, but there’s nothing I'd rather do on a Sunday evening.

it’s often said that nothing brings people together more than food, and I can absolutely attest to that. Nothing brings my family together more than food at our dinner table. There is laughter, often tears, and always a spill, but it’s the epitome of my family at one table. Even if it means my brother is going to interrupt my story and talk over me every time I try to speak, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I took this time for granted when all of us were home all the time, but tonight I am grateful for all of those family dinners and time we spent with one another each evening because it made me who I am and it’s made my family what it is. It’s an event that’s often overlooked, but it’s the cornerstone of a great family dynamic.