Thursday

We have seen buckets of evidence for having family dinner, and that children who eat dinner with families are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs. We all know it. It's about coming together as a family. That's also what I learned from Bruce Feiler after reading The Secrets of Happy Families.

There's just one little thing. Few things are easier than citing the research, and few things are harder than walking the talk.

I worked till late this evening. By the time I was home, my daughter had finished dinner. Too late.

Soon enough, I was happy for real. I was late, but we weren't done yet. It's Thursday and I was just in time to see my six-year-old daughter washing dishes. Jasmine has been learning to do chores. Not every day, but every Thursday. You can't overestimate the satisfaction a kid gets by sticking to a self-directed goal of washing dishes after dinner every Thursday. The most satisfying moments came when I saw my daughter beaming after her "chores." It's that simple.