Week #49 – Summer Fun Challenge: “Feeding Time!”

Greetings Happyness Tribe — and welcome to week TEN of our Summer Fun Challenge!

Whether you are on vacation, stay-cation, working-from-home, or working-like-a-dog — one thing is for sure: FOOD is somewhere at the center of your experience!

A bag of chips on the beach, pizza on the boards, barbeque in the back yard, ice cream on the porch, or fresh picked salad right from your own garden — FOOD is an important part of summer fun!

And if the food is important — then the people you are with are irreplaceable!

“Feeding Time” was our playful way of saying “Let’s eat!”  No one — I mean NO ONE — loved to eat more than Rob!  From his morning coffee to the last bite of cheesecake — and all the croutons in between — food plays a part in almost every memory of him!  Starting with our first bowls of Saturday morning cereal — right through our last few meals together — there are simply too many food memories to share at one time.  But throughout them all — even the tough ones — food took a reassuring spot at center stage.

As August comes to a close, I see a lot of families gathering for that one last dinner out before fall sports kick in, the kids go back to school, or the big kids head off to college.  Most recently, I saw a mother and father hosting their daughter out for dinner.  The occasion, as the father put it: “she’s leaving us!”  Back to school, I asked?  No…moving in with her boyfriend.  It was their last meal out as a core unit.

From the beginning of time, eating together is a primal source of reassurance, safety, and connection to the tribe.  In celebrations and sorrows alike — birthdays, weddings, funerals, and other farewells — food is usually at the heart of every occasion.

Food is comfort.  Food is memory.  Food is fun.  And food — just like life — is delicious!  

Your assignment for this week: SCHEDULE SOME “FEEDING TIME!”  For many of you, this is the last week before fall schedules start up and fourth quarter planning takes over.  Take time to schedule a family* meal.  And I’m not talking about going out to some fancy restaurant at 7:00p like the rest of the world and having a bad experience.  I’m talking about piling up your cell phones in a basket, spreading a table cloth out over your picnic table or across the grass in your backyard, and ENJOYING a meal with *the ones who know and love you best!

Schedule some FEEDING TIME this week!

Spread Happyness — and share your favorite food memories in the comments!

8/21/15 by Grace Church
© Grace Church

PS: TWO WEEKS TO GO!  Our FUN LIST is still growing — keep ’em coming!!! 

– Have breakfast for dinner — or dinner for breakfast!  (Thanks, Jeannette!)
– Tubing down the Delaware!  (Thanks, Jenn!)
– “One Tank Trips”
– Surprise trip for spouse or loved one
– Kayaking
– Beach time
– BBQ’s
– Tourist for the day in nearby city
– Walking the boards
– Rock climbing
– Scuba diving
– Touring an estate
– Time with family
– Sitting on the porch
– Watching for rainbows
– Learning to surf
– Gardening
– Writing a book
– Working on a “summer” project
– Moving to a new town
– Planning a spa day (or half-day, or even lunch hour)
– Taking Fridays (or Mondays) off!
– Day at the ballpark (Minor League stadiums are great, too!)
– Outside concerts/music events
– Hot air balloon ride/festival
– Pool volleyball (a Church-family classic!)
– Take yourself or someone you love for ice cream!
– Weed your front yard garden (and talk with neighbors and folks walking by!)
– Lose yourself in wonderful music, either listening or singing
– Play in the grassy backyard
– Play with your dog (or maybe your neighbor’s dog!)
– Sing karaoke
– Explore your town, county, state…through food and drink!
– Visit a farm
– Make plans to see friends you don’t often get to see (or schedule a gathering!)
– Blind-folded Make-overs!  (Great for a rainy day!  Bonus points if you go out in public after!)

(What are we missing?  Send me your ideas and I’ll add them to the list!)