I recently changed my facebook profile pic to a picture of me when I was about 7-8 years old. I don't know why I did, no real motivation~just did. I was looking at that picture today, staring into that little girls eyes and trying to remember "where" I was at that point in my life. What was good?
My childhood was, to say the least, very dysfunctional. My father was absent, my mother is mentally disabled (physically she was there, but mentally often absent), but every Sunday I found security. Every Sunday we made our way to my Nanny's house for dinner. My cousins, my aunts and uncles, my grandma and her good cookin', they were all pieces of this puzzle that came together on Sunday afternoons to provide me with a way to connect the things that mattered most. Those Sunday dinners assured me that I belonged, I mattered, and there were people that cared for me. No matter what went on through out the week I knew on Sunday I would be surrounded by people that loved me. I would be tucked in a safe, secure place.
Kami moved out this summer. She doesn't live far away, but far enough away to not see her every day. In the months leading up to her moving out Sunday had become the only day I knew we would all be at home. Kami works for Chick Fil A and thank God they are closed on Sundays :-) So Sunday dinner in Jacksonville had been birthed. Not out of some great plan, but gradually Sunday became the day that everyone knew they needed to be home for dinner. I am thankful for that now. Now that Kami isn't home and even the kids that are home are all going their separate ways all weekend long-EVERYONE is home on Sunday for dinner. My heart goes right back to that safe, secure place that it found refuge when I was 8. Sunday dinner, with the people I love most. We don't do anything formal, just eat together as a family. I am thankful for our Sunday dinners.
On another note, I am not sure exactly how or why-our home has become the gathering place for our friends and their families. If we have a get together or bar b que, it tends to be at Jacksonville. That is usually by our invite, and is always welcomed. We genuinely feel like our friends are our family. Recently the two have meshed together. Sunday dinner has become a time that includes not just Jacksons, but our friends and their families as well. I am very thankful for that. Thankful to have a time and place to gather, hang out, and live a life of love.
Sunday dinner is not an invitation only event. If you're hungry and want to spend some time with family, please join us. The house may not be in perfect condition, you may see a few loads of laundry waiting to be folded and dinner may not be fancy~but the door is open. Sometimes the conversation is deep, sometimes emotions get heavy, but sometimes we just laugh at nothing important. All that matters is that WE are together. Wanna join us? Just text and I will let you know what our dinner theme is with a suggestion of what you can bring ;-)
