Sunday Dinners

It has been a tradition in my household to cook a big Sunday dinner, the family is required to be there and we enjoy sharing our week that has passed and the week that is coming. I have tried to keep this tradition going since my children were little and despite the bumps that we have overcome in the past we still are managing to have Sunday dinners most of the time. It has been difficult over the years as my children have grown up and I am now single. There were the years that they had to spend every other Sunday at their Father's house that were the most difficult but now that they are no longer going there and grown we manage to have dinner more often.
I remember when the kids were growing up that I had to establish some rules for these dinners. They were required to be there (of course), no cell phones allowed, and the conversations were to be flowing.Guest could be invited but advanced warning was needed but mainly that we all spent time together.
I cannot count the number of roasts, casseroles, and other dishes that I have made for these dinners. It seems that they were perhaps the biggest meals that I cooked throughout the week. I always cooked too much but hte leftovers were great for lunches at work throughout hte week por creative ways to come up with new dishes later in the week. It was also the only night that desert was served right after dinner; a sweet ending to a great meal.
After dinner we did family things like play games or watch a movie. It seemed to be the way to end a busy week and start another. I was never sure that my children appreciated these evenings until they got older and they had to split their time between households. On the Sundays they were with me they seemed eager to do these traditional things and as time went on they started to ask to spend every Sunday with me.
I tried in the past to have more evenings like Sundays during the week and although they were nice they just were not the same as Sunday dinners. In th emeantime I will continue to cherish the Sunday dinners that I still get to have with my family.
I hope when they have families of their own they have these Sunday dinners with their children and maybe invite Grandma over to join them sometimes. Tonite my Grandaughter (age 2 weeks) joined us at the table. Well it is off to play a game or two and keep the traditions alive. My children are almost done doing the dishes and the games