This is the time of year where we are flooded with the ideas and declarations of what people are going to do for New Year’s resolutions and how they are going to use this next year to be better, healthier, and thinner.
Oftentimes, we see people set health goals for themselves and promise to lose weight. It’s also common that the next few weeks to see crowded gyms with filled fitness classes and special promotions on exercise equipment and gym memberships. Sometimes we see folks with financial goals. This is going to be the year where we save money and get out of debt. This is going to be the year I reconcile with so-and-so. This is going to be the year where I no longer put up with fill-in-the-blank. This is the year I am going to choose myself and be happy.
You know your social media timelines, just like mine, are flooded with this right now. We also see the words that everyone has selected as their mantras for this upcoming year.
Personally, for me, I don’t mind resolutions. Whatever you need to do to motivate yourself to be better and happier, go for it. As for me, I know that I am looking at this next year as a year I want to be very intentional and specific with the goal that I have not only for myself, but for my family, and that is to make a point to sit at our dining room table and have dinner together each night that we are able to do so. It might sound simple, but it is so important to me and something that we can be lazy about at times.
It’s easy when the week gets busy and you’ve got two kids in sports and both parents working various schedules, sometimes requiring late nights. It’s not something that can feasibly happen every night, but it can happen more than it is right now. We fall into the rut like many others do where you’ve got mac and cheese for one kid, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the other one, and the kids are at the kitchen island with one person standing while they eat, and the other is at the table.
It’s not that we aren’t talking to each other and hearing about our day, but it is not intentional.
When we eat like that, there isn’t any emphasis or priority placed on the importance of the meal and time spent. When the television is on in the background and one kid is finishing math homework, we aren’t looking each other in the eyes and genuinely hearing about our days.
What message is this sending our children? Don’t get me wrong. We spend a lot of quality time together and I’m grateful for that, but meal time is a place that I see for 2026 as a place where we need to plug into each other as a family unit and give it the time and respect it deserves. For my family, that means gathering at the table together and sharing a meal and having those conversations about our days. That’s where we can ask about the quiz they took that day and hear about their recess shenanigans and what made them happy that day. It’s also a time for them to learn how to ask others about their days and invest in our family.
Sure, I wouldn’t mind if I also happened to lose 30 pounds this year and become a dedicated member of a fitness facility. I wouldn’t mind saving more money and bettering other areas in my life, but I’m starting with my own family, in my own house, around my own table. I’m making the point to sit, slow down a bit, and place an emphasis on the importance of sharing a meal and conversation with each other as much as we can.
This time is fleeting and I don’t want it to go by and wonder where it went. That’s what my resolution is this year. It’s not a word or a number on the scale. It’s about time and being intentional with the people who matter most to me.
Megan Rathz is a wife, mother, and teacher. She says everything she has ever learned in life came from her Master Gardener mother.