If you follow me on Instagram, I’m sure you know that we had a weekend-long vacation to celebrate A’s birthday. We kicked it off with a trip to Enchanted Kingdom, where the minis really had fun because they’re now tall enough to try all the kiddie rides (on their own!) and some of the adult rides with us. We then slept over in a hotel in Tagaytay and spent our second day at the zoo and food trippin’ like a bunch of hungry hippos.
My old self would have loads of photos on Instagram taken during our vacation, but this time, we opted to put our phones and cameras in our bags and just enjoyed each moment as is. The problem with wanting to capture every moment on a camera is that we miss the actual moment so we thought we’d just drop our gadgets and enjoy each other’s company.
And you know what? It really turned out to be a super fun family getaway! We shared loads of memories that weekend that would have been great captured in photos, but we’re fine with the few shots taken by the staff of the places we visited and the unforgettable memories stored in our brains.
Speaking of disconnecting to re-connect, during one of our food stops that weekend, we encountered a young family pretty much like ours. While we were goofing around with the minis, their little ones were trying to make funny faces at their dad too. We found it rather funny, but our smile turned into a disappointed frown when we saw that the dad didn’t even bother look at his kids. He just nodded as the kids called him, but he kept his eyes on his phone. That would have been the perfect moment to bond with his kids–fun over a good meal–but he chose to connect with his phone instead.
We find meal times very good opportunities to re-connect with the family. Having to handle a growing business and my husband being in service AND in the middle of growing his own business, our days are pretty loaded with long lists of to-do’s. However, we don’t let work get in the way of our family bonding time each day. Although we can’t be together during each meal, we make it a point to be present during dinner time.
Unfortunately, not all families make it a habit to re-connect with each other, even for just half an hour during dinner time. If you’re finding yourself too preoccupied with other things and not being able to spend time with your family, here’s a video that you need to watch:
The Mealtime Movement initiative views every meal as an opportunity to connect in a world full of distractions and on-the-go parenting. The video showcases three real families of various makeups, speaking from the heart about their relationships and desire for deeper connections, before coming together for a device-free family meal. Prior to the meal, parents and children were interviewed on camera talking about one another. Each family is surprised as footage from the preliminary interviews is played back, provoking a meaningful bonding opportunity. The families were kept largely in the dark about the projects specifics prior to the shoot in order to ensure emotional authenticity and spontaneity.
“It’s normal for people to feel a bit isolated nowadays when everyone around them is looking at a screen. It was our job to address that problem head-on and then present a solution. I think everyone can relate to the Mealtime Movement and I hope that this video sparks a positive change among families far and wide,” director Ben Shelton shared.
On not so busy days, #ThisIsMealtime for us:
A trip to the fishing district to catch our meal ourselves! 😀 What’s mealtime like for YOUR family? Share your mealtime moments in the comments section below.
The SoulPancake team was led by creative director Golriz Lucina and director Ben Shelton. with a goal to represent the fact that every family is different and not to shy away from the challenges of our culture of constant connectivity. For more information about this movement, visit www.mealtimemovement.com.
