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Table
Talk: A New Level of Comfort
by Christine
A. McClungy, Epicworld.info
From the diaper stage to middle age, the baby boomer generation
has impacted society. Now nostalgia is setting in, bringing
back favorite old television commercials.
This means that television has come of age, as well. What has
it replaced? Books, family hour, quiet times, even time to think-
to name a few. While we're indulging in nostalgia, do you remember
those times in the fifties, when the family still ate dinner
together, every night? Then, long after the last bite of strawberry
shortcake was savored, the
dinner conversation would continue.
Dinner table talk is not just an anomaly from the fifties.
Conversation as a teaching modality between parents and children
has presided at mealtime for generations. Until now.It was said
that the baby boomers are seeking "comfort". Hence,
the offering of commercial re-runs for comfort. Here we are,
surrounded by plush furnishings, super-abundance of delicious
food, the latest electronic marvels, fancy cars, costly apparel,
and every need met at the touch of a button. And we are seeking
comfort?
What lack we yet? I draw comfort from those dinner talks decades
ago. We talked about politics, history, religion, science, literature,
the arts. Perhaps there would be a Beethoven symphony playing
on the phonograph. It was the most well-rounded education a
person could receive. But the most precious part of those teaching
moments is not expressed in words. There was never any question
whether we would show up for dinner. Presence at the family
dinner hour was a given- something almost sacred. I never had
to worry if Mom and Dad would be there. And when it came to
values, I always knew where they stood. That foundation gave
me something solid to hang onto as I struggled through the years
to maturity. It gave me a legacy to pass on to my children.
We may seek comfort in a familiar commercial. It will be a
fleeting sensation, which cannot last much longer than the two
minute program interruption that it is.
But dinner table talk is a metaphor of enduring family unity
that can comfort generations, long after we are gone.
Find more resources
and information on Uniting Families Through Table Talk at Christine
McClung's website, http://www.epicworld.info
Copyright 2004
by Christine
A. McClung.
Reproduction without permission prohibited.
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