_From the Book - Single Dad 6 Keys to a Successful Single Parent Home
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One Moore Kitchen
“As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.” Buddy Hackett One of the things that I have always enjoyed is dining out. When I was growing up I remember our family going out to eat and how my parents always gave the pre-dinner speech about how we should behave. I also remember how when we walked into the restaurant the staff remembering my family and treating us like royalty. It was fascinating to me. It was an event. Other than the time my mom excused herself from the table to take me to the car for something I did. (It was not a good evening) Those memories have fueled my love of dining out. Growing up we had our family dinners on Sunday after church. My dad worked from 6:00 in the morning till 11:00 at night about 6 days a week. Sunday, at least till 2:00 was his time with the family. The Sunday dinner was always entertaining. It started with if the preacher had caused the roast to burn and proceeded to who my mom was going to throw a spoon at. Not every meal had a spoon throwing but if the preacher was long the odds increase. Fortunately for me she missed every time. (I was always saying something I should not have.) Years later it was a memory my mom and I laughed about. The Sunday dinner was where my parents taught us the things they thought we should know when dinning together, with friends or in a restaurant. It was something we shared together that I'm grateful we had. The things I learned have served me well as well as provided my family a memory to look back on and laugh about. One Moore Kitchen is what the kids and I named our Dining area. In reconnecting with my kids one of the things I thought would help would be sharing meals together as a family. I wanted to give them as much a Normal Rockwell moment as possible. I wanted to teach them the things I was taught about manners and etiquette at the dinner table. Without the spoon throwing of course. Next I wanted to have a similar experience as dining out. At the time we could not afford the nice restaurants. If fact we didn't even have a dining table or chairs. ONE MOORE KITCHEN IS BORN First we decided we needed a menu. This is not an original idea of mine. I read about someone else who had done this in their home and shared the idea with the kids. Next we needed a name. One of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta was One Midtown Kitchen. I suggested we swap out Midtown and add Moore. They agreed. Now whats going on the menu. We picked things I had cooked for them and we all agreed on. We had 3 breakfast items, 2 appetizers, 4 Entrées and 3 desserts. (you will see the original later) After deciding what would go on the menu I typed it up on the computer and printed a few out. The kids thought is was really cool. I had to explain to the kids that just because we have a menu doesn't mean every meal we eat will come from the menu. “Why?” They ask. Because we only put favorites on it and to put everything on it would make the menu to big. They were not completely sold. So I told them that none of the really nice restaurants had big menus. They bought that and agreed our's was to be nice and cool. Just gotta love em! When we moved to a different house the kids decided it was time for a dinning room table and chairs. At the time I was working at The Home Depot. Home Depot has a section in the lumber department that has what they call cull lumber. This is lumber that doesn't meet the standards they have set. Every load of lumber from the mill comes complete with a few pieces like this. Not that it's the mills fault. It just happens. Anyway, I went to the cull section and pick out some pieces we could use, then to the paint department and got some stain. I think for all of it I paid about $15.00. When I got home and showed the kids. They couldn't wait to get started building it. It took about three evenings to finish. In the end it was a fun project for us to do together and again they thought it was really cool. My oldest son decided to point out the obvious and say, Dad we need chairs. Thank God for Ikea! On my next trip to Atlanta to see my brother and some friends I stopped by Ikea and found 4 chairs that would be perfect with the table and would fit into our budget. $10.00 a piece. So for about $55.00 we now had a custom made dinning table and chairs. With all the pieces in place we have been able to spend about 5 evenings a week in One Moore Kitchen. I fix dinner, they set the table, music on, good times. Sitting down at the table together is an incredible experience. We treat meal time as an event. A time to teach, learn and enjoy each others company. I have had other parents say they can't get their kids to sit down and eat with them and ask how they can change it. I don't know the whole situation but what works for me and what I tell them is, make it cool. How do I know it works? My kids friends love it. If we took reservations we would stay booked for months. Nobody that I know likes eating with people they can't relate too or doesn't relate to them. If you want a relationship with your kids be someone they can relate to. One of the best places I know to start is at the dining room table, in a relaxing atmosphere enjoying good music, good food and great conversation. I know a lot of people will think this all sounds like over kill but your investment of time and love will pay huge dividends in the end. |
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Copyright 2012 John L. Moore, Jr.