Today I was asked by my sister; what did you get your daughter (Alicia) for her birthday tomorrow. And I told her nothing! But seriously, I don’t always give my daughter, and her two siblings who are all grown now, a gift like I did for their birthdays, when they were children and teenagers. This year the family will have her over for some food, conversations, and games.
I think that the value we get, out of coming together as family and friends, outweighs any physical gift that can be given? And I believe especially now with more people spending their time in front of screens, we need more opportunities to just hang out fact to face.
In fact, I was at a school yesterday conducting a workshop on “How to Support Learning at Home” to a group of parents. And we went around the room and asked each parent to describe how it was when they were growing up, and dinner was served. Most of the responses were, we had to sit together and eat. And of course, during the meal, members of the family would talk and get caught up on the things of the day.
Now days many families don’t even sit together for dinner (and other meals), with many individuals even eating in their own rooms. And too often when families do sit together some choose to be on their phones or tablets.
We may never go back to the days when families always sit together to enjoy a meal and conversation, but I think the more we do it, the more unity we’ll have in our families and communities.
Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter Alicia. You are a gift from heaven, and I love you very much. Enjoy your special day!
Dad!