By David Tepera, November 27, 2019

Recently, a client asked if our family ever sits down and has dinner together? Kind of sadly, my reply was, “only on Sunday.”

You see, my family is like many of you with children. Modern day society has brought numerous organizations and sports in which parents enroll their children. A typical week is one parent rushing a child to their event, while the other parent is rushing another sibling to a different event. Usually, each parent is responsible for feeding that particular child. Believe me, I understand the importance of healthy activities because it brings many life lessons.

The only difference for me, I was a single parent when the kids were younger. At that time, I did all the cooking, so at the end of day, we did eat dinner together.

But, now, even though the kids are older and still live at home, they go to school and work. My wife Tina and son Dylan do most of the cooking. They prepare meals for all of us to eat each week, so we pack them in coolers, and go about our day. There’s a microwave at the Ageless Muscle fitness center, so meals are heated between client training.

Tomorrow will mark a special Thanksgiving holiday for all of us. For my family, this is the largest event of the year. My amazing loving mom Eileen Tepera, aka Nana, hosts an incredible feast each year.

Relatives fly and drive in from all over the country to enjoy this once a year food frenzy. Everyone brings a dish of some sort, with mom doing most of the cooking with her special Italian recipes to salivate over.

Once everyone is present and food is ready, we sit, laugh, love and catch up from the year’s past. Obviously, such an important time to break bread because there will be a day one family member might not be there with us.

So, my message today is to let go of your busy lives, let kids be kids, release all negative thoughts, and love those around you.

For some reason you’re not fortunate to have family or friends to celebrate with, I urge you to volunteer. There are many organizations seeking volunteers to distribute food to those less fortunate. I promise, this act will not only brighten your holiday, but those your serve.

So, tomorrow, take the time to sit down and share a meal with a smile.