I know we're busy and people's schedules are all different. But I don't think it's too much to ask to take one meal a day and do nothing during that meal but eat and enjoy the company of those around you. For a lot of people this will be dinner. For some breakfast. For a very few others, lunch. But pick a meal and then try to really enjoy it every day this week.
If you are part of a family, sharing a meal is the perfect time to force your kids to tell you what happened at school ("Nothing!") and to check in. Eating dinner together, as a family, also can go some ways to ending Mom-as-Short-Order-Cook-Syndrome. If everyone eats together, you may stand a better chance of prepping one dinner instead of four. Eating together also gives you a chance to model good behavior, just as eating pasta standing up over the sink models other behavior for your kids.
If you are living alone, find ways to share meals with friends, but if you are eating alone simply taking the time to eat off a plate and turn off the TV can be a wonderful, peaceful break in your day. When I was working in Seattle's Pioneer Square, I find a wonderful, urban park with a waterfall and made a ritual of eating there every day. Maybe you have a similar lunch spot near your office?
If you are a couple, try making meal time a time to connect. I'm way too grumpy before coffee to do this with breakfast. The only person I allow to talk to about anything substantial before coffee is Chris Cuomo of ABC's Good Morning America. My husband and I spend our share of time eating pizza and watching our Netflix, but dinner can also become an opportunity for romance. Light a candle and you'll look much more beautiful as you eat - even if what you are eating is not yet quite so beautiful.
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