Jul 30, 2008 06:29:43
I have three daughters,twins ages 13 and a 15 year old. One of the twins is autistic. Although I have a busy life as aingle working mom, we take time every night to sit down to dinner. We have therapists in and out of the house, and at times they are with us over the dinner hour. No matter who is in our home at dinner time, we insist that we all sit at our kitchen table and share a meal. We always start our meal the same way. We all hold hands, and each of us take turns around the table saying a part of the prayer. My autisitc daughter has limited speech, yet she has memorized this prayer and will prompt each guest to say their part of the prayer. When the prayer is done we let go of our hands and start our meal. It is a tradition we hold dear, and it is a welcoming dinner time symbol to guests in our home. We selected the Stouffer's lasagna for our meal - it was easy and delicious. I only had to add a salad and garlic bread for a hearty dinner. With an evening visitor after a busy day, it made for a stress-free hot meal..