Category Archives: Relationships and Family

Are You On Track, On Fire, On Purpose?

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The first month of 2011 is gone.  I’m sure you approached the new year with hope and expectancy of having a better 2011.  How are you doing?  Are You Alright? I mean while you are working feverishly to achieve your goals and taking care of business, were  you also taking care of yourself too?  To be alright, you must make it a point to take care of not only your physical needs, but your emotional and spiritual needs too.

My Deep Funk

Most people never picture me as being down.  With my positive nature and high energy most think that I am always up, so in the interest of authenticity, I am sharing a period that I can only describe as a “deep funk.”  I don’t know if it was the seven funerals in four months, including two uncles in two weeks and a nephew before Thanksgiving, economic challenges, the cruelty and betrayal of a long time friend, or the host of other emotional strains, but they all collectively took their toll on me.  When you are forced to look at the finality of this life, to watch loved ones go, to face constant struggles without a break, sometimes it can cause even the strong to buckle under the pressure.  I had to deal with all this while dealing with a constantly and disturbingly changing business and financial landscape.  I was so busy taking care of everyone else that I wasn’t taking care of my own emotional needs.  But, as I’ve said before, “The tree most pruned bears the best fruit.” Sure, I had worthy goals but an emotional or physical setback can make you almost impotent to do anything and throw you off-track.  How I Got Back on Track?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

The Importance of Family Dinners

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The dinner is more  than a meal.  Family dinners can even fight obesity.  But, that’s just one of the benefits of having a family dinner together says Dr. Mark Hyman.  He goes so far to say that “Eating at Home Can Save Your Life” and that “THE SLOW INSIDIOUS DISPLACEMENT of home cooked and communally shared family meals by the industrial food system has fattened our nation and weakened our family ties.”

Reconnect through the Family Dinner

Family dinner isn’t just an occasion to fuel  the body, it’ a time to connect and share its decline of it has astounding negative  social implications for our children and families.  If you want to bring your family closer and make them happier and healthier, the family dinner is the place to start.  Just as you schedule time for your work, favorite television shows and exercise,  in the same way, you must set aside time for the family dinner.  “Don’t schedule dinners into your life.  Schedule your life around your family dinners. ” It’s that important!   And, if done right with nutritious whole food, it can be a time of focused healing spiritually,  mentally and physically.  Fewer and fewer young adults even know how to cook anymore.  Food is our medicine and we can’t live without it.  And since we’re going to eat anyway, why not make a healing, educational, and connecting ritual of it?  It’s cheaper than therapy and a lot more enjoyable.

The Loss of Shared Family Meals Have Weakened Family Ties

via How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life by Dr. Mark Hyman

Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in US pre-school aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don’t watch TV on weekdays.

We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network, than actually preparing their own meals.”

If this excerpt interested you, check out the entire article.  You’ll be glad you did.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

How Often Do You Eat Dinner with Your Family?

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Could you use a little more connection, love, or understanding?  If so, it could be as close as your kitchen table and a family meal.  Want to get closer to your teens?  The family dinner might be the place to start.  While some say the family dinner is dying out,  a Time Magazine article says it is coming back. Think back to your past, the family dinner was one of the few rituals that a family could count on.  It was a time when the children knew they had the undivided attention of their parents and siblings to share or consult about issues going on in their lives.  Unfortunately, research shows that the institution of a family dinner is dying.  I know personally, we have a lot less dinners together now that we did years ago.  I got tired of cooking after 40 years of preparing meals for my family.  But, after reading the articles linked to this post, I’m rethinking the whole  thing.  I realize that I am not the only one who can cook.  I spoke with my family and we’ve promised to take turns cooking and bring the family dinner back. I like that!

Let’s Do Our Own Research

So which is it; is it dying out or coming back?  What about you; Do you have regular family dinners?  I mean dinners where you are all seated at the same table at the same time, with no phones and no TV on? Do you talk to each other and if you do, do you have meaningful conversations?  What do you remember about family dinners growing up, the cooking, eating,  and then cleaning up together? Please post your reply to the question: Do you still have family dinners?  How often? Do you miss them?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.