Jacob loved watching me unpack and set up the rooms in our new home. When I was unpacking our dining room, I pulled out the box of our gold silverware and serving utensils and he asked “What is that Mommy?” It occurred to me that he probably had never even seen it before. We only used it at holidays or special occasions, and we really hadn’t used it much in quite some time. This made me think. Why do I have this beautiful set of cutlery and yet it just sits in a drawer of the china cabinet? What is the point of having it if we are not going to use it? So now we use it every evening for dinner. Which then inspired me to make the rest of dinner beautiful as well. Why not use the nice cloth napkins? Why not light some candles? Why not set an atmosphere with soft classical music? Yes, we are a family full of little boys. And boys can be rambunctious and messy, but boys can also learn to be polite little gentlemen and they won’t learn if they are not taught.
So then the other day I was thinking about how lovely it was to have everything so nice for dinner, why not bring some of that to the other meals as well? So i pulled a few of my serving trays out of the china cabinet. At breakfast I arranged a fruit plate, and everyone loved it! The boys even seemed to remember their manners. So at lunch I arranged a vegetable tray, and a tray of meat and cheese, and one of crackers. Again, it was a hit! Breakfast and lunch were both so pleasant that we have decided to continue with the concept of making every meal a little special. No more rushing around, no more throwing lunch together in a hurry. Meals are an occasion to sit down together, have polite conversation, and enjoy the company of our family. Whether we are serving sandwiches or a full course dinner, the table is pretty and manners are remembered. It is amazing how even carrot and celery sticks suddenly seem like a treat when served on a pretty silver platter.
One thing that is important to remember when you have little ones is that children will be children. You can not expect a one year old to not make a mess when he is eating spaghetti, and you have to expect that he will run that pretty gold fork through his hair at some point, and that it is entirely possible that the placemat could end up on the floor. But in time, with the right example, he will learn what is acceptable behavior, and before you know it he will learn to behave like a little gentleman.
We bought a pretty lace table cloth this weekend. ( I must admit that I remove it for meals, I am not entirelycrazy afterall) I love lace, and had wanted a lace tablecloth for some time, but it is hard to find one large enough that is not terribly expensive. I wasn’t ready to invest in an expensive one yet, so this was perfect. I love the mix of masculine and feminine in our home. Our house is a log cabin style, so there is quite a bit of wood, and yet I have used a lot of lace, and vases of flowers, and we have an ornate four poster bed. Our home feels comfortable, and it is our own blend of formal yet warm. It fits our family, for where we are in life right now. We do have little ones so our home has to be child friendly, but I also don’t want to live in a world of bright colored plastic and no knic-nacs. So I think we have found what works for our family.
Homemaking Blessings,
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