First thing, you have a BEAUTIFUL family. I’m sure you are beyond proud of it.

Secondly, this is a brilliant post. My oldest is 18. Do you remember back when Oprah was being an advocate for dinner at the family table? Well, my daughter saw the commercials, and she asked why we didn’t eat dinner at the table. We started, and I have never looked back. It is a very special time, and I love it... I look forward to it.

Since then, I have had two more daughters. One is eleven, and one is 14 months. I’ve always worked, a lot, until our last baby was born. It’s super hard to survive on one income, but the difference I have seen in my children is enormous.They are so much happier, and they are more calm. My husband works long hours, and we, too, are trying to make it to where he can be home more. As sad as it is, he is rarely home at dinner time. He usually eats later in the day. It makes me sad.

I’m also wishing I would have home-schooled my children. The oldest graduates this year, and the middle one is in 6th grade. I feel like the ship sailed. The school system is hard on children. My biggest problems are that they are gone, they are not active, they are forced to eat very quickly, they are not allowed to drink when thirsty, and they are taught to hold their bodily waste until a convenient bathroom time. It’s awful. Somewhere along the way, it seems they stopped caring about the children, and a schedule to prepare for standardized tests became more important.

Sorry for the long comment! Lol! You wrote about a topic that is VERY important to me.