Every Day Is Family Day

In case it’s not on your calendar, (it definitely wasn’t on mine) Monday, September 25th is Family Day. It’s a day when we’re supposed to eat dinner together with our families. Supposedly, TV Land, the cable television channel, will go “dark” between 5 and 6 pm that day in support of our efforts and not tempt us with “Leave It to Beaver” reruns or something else more compelling than mealtime conversation with our kids.

It’s an intriguing idea and this is apparently the 5th year that it’s been done. I’m all for eating dinner together and the resulting benefits, although in a household of teenagers, here’s a typical dinner conversation:

“How was school?”
“Good.”
“How was practice?”
“Good.”
“Anything new?”
“Nope.”
“Something bothering you? You seem quiet.”
“OH MY GOD, MOM……!”

So you can see why I’m not necessarily putting up the Family Day garland in our house. We do try to eat together, but that’s not always possible, thanks to field hockey, music lessons, rehearsals and various meetings at school. And therein lies the problem, or the question: If one network shuts down for an hour, will anyone notice? Probably not, because nobody will be home.

Television isn’t the one thing that’s keeping today’s families from eating dinner together. I’d even hazard a guess that if somebody turns on TV Land Monday night and sees a dark screen, their first thought won’t be sharing a meal, but rather: “Dang, the cable’s out again.”

If Family Day is to be a reality and not a dream, then the lives of today’s typical family will have to come to a screeching halt. Sports programs will have to suspend practice and play, but then when else can the working dads and moms coach the kids? Rehearsals will have to be cancelled, but there’s never enough time to practice for an upcoming performance. Lessons will have to be missed, which will probably thrill the kids because they haven’t had the time or the motivation to practice. And meetings – PTO and PTA and School Board and Athletic Committee and Scouts and Auction Committee and every group that meets under the fluorescent lights will have to NOT MEET. It’s an absurd idea that sounds blissfully tempting if your weeks are blanketed with overlapping schedules and pickup points and carpools and commitments.

For so long, we’ve been told to raise well-rounded kids and to encourage them to try different things. And so we, and they, did…apparently all at once. We’re the victims of our own ambitions for ourselves and our children. I have no solution, nor am I preaching that we should stay home and play Yahtzee instead of watching our kids play volleyball. I think it’s great that kids participate in sports and play music and get involved in lots of extra-curricular activities. We’re doing a pretty good job juggling here in our house, but I can’t help but wonder how single parents, dual-working parents, and parents of large families handle the challenge. My hat is off to all of you – you rock!

I think every day is Family Day and although it’s nice that someone’s trying to make it an official event, I think it’s OK if we all celebrate it in our own little way. I’d rather not add anything to the list of things we parents should feel guilty about. So if you see us driving around while eating fast food, at least we’re eating together and you’ll know that we’re having our own “moving” tribute to Family Day. Hey, it’s the least we could do.