Every so often things on the home front would seem to fall apart a little. It got to a point that we could see a little pro-active check up might be needed from time to time. Living in a home where one person requires so much more time and attention than the others, it’s easy to neglect by default the very relationships you want to nourish! So, we found it wise to check up on those relationships to be sure they were thriving. Our monthly meetings were great, but sometimes we would have a short weekly meeting!

“We Are Family” meetings would be short and to the point on these topics:

• Going over our calendars
• Communicating about things happening at school, work, ministry, etc.
• Taking time to share frustrations or concerns needing to be addressed

Having this open communication allowed for all of us to have:

• Open discussion
• Attentive availability
• The fostering of openness outside of family meetings

It allowed us, then, to keep focused upon:

• Things of importance (which for us is our walk with the Lord, family relationships, friends, work, and ministry.)
• Which direction we were all going
• How and where we could help each other. (If we’re working together, more will be accomplished and each person is heard and understood in an effort to all be moving forward in relationship and life.)

The beauty of these meetings is that we kept things “on the table” and not being swept under the rug. Sweeping things under the rug, not discussing challenges and frustrations, not addressing needs and wants, and simply ignoring things of importance will hinder good communication and good relationships. It’s also helpful just to connect and get to say and do things that one might miss on a day to day basis when life is crazy, moving at a fast speed, and to get to hear each other’s hearts.

If you really want to make meetings lighter than sometimes life is, consider making your meeting time a time to additionally share something fun:

• Your favorite thing that happened to YOU this past month
• A fun snack that is someone’s favorite around the table
• Answering a fun conversation starter question JUST FOR FUN (Example: What’s your favorite saying, thought, or quote? If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? What do you have a taste for right now? Who’s your closest friend right now?)

Making these meetings informational, educational, fun, and helpful is the goal. Give it a try!

Joe and Cindi Ferrini are authors of UNEXPECTED JOURNEY-When Special Needs Change our Course and can be contacted for speaking engagements or to simply connect with them at www.cindiferrini.com. They can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UnexpectedJourney/