At first blush, this might seem super depressing. The reality was that this was a great starting point for a dinner discussion. My guess is that the notion of pointlessness came from an 11 year olds acknowledgement that Sunday evening feeds into Monday morning and with that the beginnings again of the weekly routine. More specifically, this means: get-up, go to school, eat a dinner that probably doesn’t make my top 5, go to bed. Repeat.

Of course each day is far more varied than that, a fact he granted after some further probing. I think this speaks more to the reality that as we grow it’s natural to question our place in life. What does it all mean? What is it’s purpose? What is my role in it all? Big questions that many adults probably can’t answer. We talked about family values, experiences, the importance of enjoying the moment and not just the end goal – all good stuff but did it resonate with the immediate feelings of a sixth grader? I’m not sure but it was a good chat never-the-less.

Making time to eat dinner together has oft been discussed as critical for all members of your family. Need a refresher? Try this story from Today’s Parent. Or this one from the Washington Post. Or how about visiting this site devoted to family dinner: The Family Dinner Project.

Enjoy tonight’s dinner and maybe even an engrossing chat about existentialism!