This week’s Table Talk is an important reminder from country music star Trisha Yearwood. The secret to keeping a family close is eating together. Dinnertime is such a great family time.

I think we started losing touch with the importance of family dinner time back in late 1953 when Swanson sold the first TV dinners. It was the golden age of television and frozen dinners were designed to be quickly prepared and eaten in front of I Love Lucy. It was a cultural green-light for family members to start ignoring one another.

It’s even worse today! Our 21st Century lifestyles are filled with so many interrupting, attention-grabbing personal devices. Yearwood’s reminder is a good one. Turn off the TV if you still watch one. Likewise for all the smartphones. Put the iPads to sleep, shut down the iPods, and take out the earbuds – it’s dinnertime!