Hit Pause

As the description of this blog indicates, we are looking at discovering or creating a better life at home. One routine that we began in our home was the Sunday afternoon dinner.

We all are busy during the week and for many families with kids, the weekends can be just as busy. Between religious obligations, sports activities and playdates, it can be hard to get the family together for five minutes. Time to hit the Pause Button!

We re-connected with something that we came to know as kids as the big Italian Sunday dinner. There are different variations of this, but simply put, it was a mid afternoon event where family and friends sat for hours to relax with the ones they loved over food and drink.

We found that this time frame works well for us. By Sunday afternoon most programmed events are over. As I tend to start work very early on Monday, I am already distracted by thoughts of work by early Sunday evening. Perfect – a couple of unplanned hours to reconnect with family before the week starts again!

Often, this time is spent at a simple restaurant. Our favorites are an Italian restaurant, which made its way out to Long Island from New York City’s Little Italy, and a Japanese restaurant where we can sit in a cozy, private room enclosed with shoji screens and with pillows to sit on.

At around 2:00 in the afternoon, most restaurants are not too busy and therefore, the meal can be unhurried. We use the time to really catch up with each other and what’s going on in each other’s lives. No one is racing from the table to “go check on something” or to start cleaning up. It’s the one moment we really seem to see and hear each other.

Life is short. Hit the Pause Button for your family and capture a few quality moments.


- Peace