When my kids were still small, Edmund did not like the idea of me bringing them out to restaurants. He thought that was bad training and wrong values.
It took two decades before he appreciated the value of family dining together, outside of the house.
I’ve said this many times, when in restaurants we are forced to sit together. We don’t stand up till the meal is done and we’re ready to leave. For at least one full hour (without looking at cellphones) our attentions are into each other (without cellphones). We are able to engage in conversations. When at home, we are distracted, and we don’t get to eat at the same time, all the time. Iba-iba ng oras ng uwi, iba-ibang oras ng kain.
My daughter and I eat lunch together about 3x a week.
This was our lunch today, pancit canton for her, pancit molo for me.
Over lunches, the two of us talk about our lives, work, ideas, plans, personal problems, work problems, or tsismis about other people, etc. And as her mother, I also reserve the right to sermon her once in a while.
The time is simply to be cherished because it’s quality time together.
I hope I will have many years more to spend lunch with my daughter and dinner with my son. May not be as frequent but if we still live in the same city, I want to dine with them at least once a week.
