Sunday night dinner

Well it's Sunday night which means the weekend is almost over. Does anyone else really not like Sundays? I don't know what it is about this half of the weekend but it just depresses me. Growing up Sunday night was always the night I had to finish all the work I had put off all weekend and get ready for a whole new week and whatever that may hold so maybe that's where my negative feelings stem from. Or maybe the fact that tomorrow is Monday? Or that there are a full 5 days until my next weekend? Who knows!

Despite my weird feelings about Sundays, in reality they usually contain positive things. Church, family time, golf, Sunday strolls, football, and a little bit of leisurely time are all things that people enjoy on Sundays. Growing up, my family had our own Sunday routines. We went to church every week, enjoyed the afternoon, then had our "Sunday night dinner." This dinner was a staple in my childhood. No matter what, every Sunday my dad would cook a serious dinner for us. Now, I'm not talking about a feast by any means but usually something like pork chops, cous cous, and roasted potatoes. Or flank steak, spinach, and lentils. Salmon, brown rice, and broccoli. You get the idea. But it was always some weird, gourmet version of a meal. My dad loves to cook, it's his passion, and growing up we never just had chocolate cake. We had chocolate, raspberry mousse, ganache cake or something crazy like that. So these gourmet meals are what I've grown up with and were just my norm but it turns out we were weird. These days it's weird for a father to do all the cooking, it's weird for a family to sit down and spend time together regularly during dinner, it's weird to have a balanced dinner every day of the week. But to me, this is what we did and I took it for granted. I didn't realize how unique this time of the week was for my family or how how it was just part of our routine. I can guarantee my parents and my 18 year old brother (the only one still at home) will be sitting down to eat Sunday night dinner any time now.

According to Time Magazine: Kids who dine with the folks are healthier, happier and better students. I think it worked for us! ;)

Looking back on it, I realize how lucky I am to have a father who takes his Sunday afternoons to prepare us an amazing meal every week. How lucky I am to have a mother who takes the time to set our table with different place-mats and silverware according to the season, because she cares. How lucky I am to have two siblings to share this family tradition with. And last but not least, how lucky I am to have a boyfriend who has experienced these Sunday night dinners (and is very fond of Dad's cooking) and understands what cooking means to my family. Dt and I definitely do not have a super fancy meal once a week but we eat together every day and enjoy whatever it is we are having. One day I know that we will have our own family traditions and I hope family dinner, as well as date night, are weekly occurrences but until then, I've realized how thankful I am to be able to enjoy my Sunday night dinner tradition with my boyfriend, even if it's only take out.

This is some of my actual family (some cousins and grandmothers included) enjoying a Sunday night dinner

What are you thankful for on this Sunday evening? Do you have any family traditions that you will continue in your future family?