Our Rural Roots

Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, Contributor

Under quarantine, the days started to run together, and life began to feel mundane. The kids were going stir crazy locked up at home and, if I am honest, so were their parents.

So, in an attempt to find some fun and salvage our sanity, we cooked up the idea of a fancy Sunday dinner.

These days, on Sunday nights, we simply prepare a little fancier meal than normal. In reality, the affair is nothing fancy. But, to my kids (ages 4 and 5), you'd think it was dinner at Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park.

The menu isn't complicated. It involves a lot of steak (of course). Dessert is always on the menu.

The kids make paper placemats for each of us. Our son, who is learning to write his letters, often works to write each person's name and decorate each masterpiece with that person's favorite animal.

We let the kids choose their own glassware. A wine glass with a twisty straw (because it's a party!) is nearly always the vehicle of choice. We use the "fancy dishes," which are honestly just our regular Fiestaware plates; but they feel fancy when compared to the paper plates that often get called into service during the week.

I hope when they are older, and they look back on the chaos of the year 2020, my children will not remember too much of the hard.

Instead, I hope they remember steak and macaroni and cheese on turquoise plates and apple juice in a wine glass.

I hope they remember the clanking of crystal glasses at least 57 times per meal and the joyous shouts of "cheers" as we raise our glasses high in salute. I hope they remember the real recipe for making things memorable is the simple ingredient of togetherness.

> Tiffany Dowell Lashmet balances ranching, children and a career in ag law from the Texas Panhandle. Follow her blog at alwaysafarmkid.com and her on Instagram alwaysafarmkid and Twitter @TiffDowell.

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