We almost always have dinner together with the whole family -- Rachel, Jared, Sara, Ezra, and I -- and plan to continue doing so as long as the kids are still living with us. That's the way my folks did it and I think there are definite benefits to sharing a meal together. Of course, there is the occasional exception, but for the most part, we all eat together.

Sometimes, however, that gets a mite tiresome. As much as I love my kids, sometimes I long for adult conversation. Rachel and I talk, but it seems that we invariably end up talking about the kids or other family matters. In addition, we've been together so long (nearly twenty years) and experienced so much together that we're comfortable just being together without talking.

Last night was different. I had dinner with another woman and the conversation was not about whether or not we would take them to the symphony this weekend or when we would get around to clearing out the attic. Instead, we talked of travel and of concerts and of youthful experiences. We laughed, we shared, we had a grand time. We barely even noticed that the kids were there.

Yep, the mom who was watching our kids stayed for dinner with her two daughters. Her girls and Jared and Sara ate and talked and didn't pay any more attention to us than we did to them. She and I and Rachel ignored the kids as much as possible and had a grand time. Wednesday is our barbeque night -- I get the grill going and cook some steaks for that night and a mess of chicken for the next; we always have plenty. So it was a matter of putting on a bit more veg and some extra rice and "why don't you stay for dinner?"

It was no extra work for me and it gave her a chance to rest and avoid cooking. The kids got to play more and we had a nice evening. So if you're more in the mood for Satriani than the Sippy Cups, invite another family over for dinner. Let the kids do what they want and you can enjoy yourself, almost as if the kids weren't there.