One of my favorite memories of having a young family is the time that we spent together during our family meals which usually took place at dinner time. It was so fulfilling to be able to sit down with my children and husband and have discussions while we enjoyed a meal together.

As we ate our meal, our children shared what they did that day and what they learned and experienced. Each one would have the opportunity to share their day with all of us. With seven children, our meals were not always peaceful, quiet or filled with joy. Sometimes it was stressful because there was a disagreement that took place or someone was misbehaving.

One day, I told our children that for the next nine weeks, we were going to honor one member of our family by writing down 10 things that we love the most about that person. I would choose one person each week including my husband and myself to be the one that we honored.

The first week, we started with my husband. The children and I wrote down the ten things that they loved most about their father. It brought us such joy to read our lists after dinner. Each week I chose a different child to honor and we went around the table reading our list of the 10 things that we loved about that person.

Sometimes it was difficult for one or more of the children to come up with 10 things that they loved about their siblings. I’d often hear things such as “I like her shoes” which always made someone giggle, but it was worth the effort of having everyone try to come up with the ten compliments. The smile on the child’s face who was being honored, revealed that they appreciated all the attention and praise being focused on them that day.

The next time that you are looking for a fun and rewarding activity to do with your husband, children or grandchildren, ask them to write down ten things that they love most about you and then you should do the same for them. I guarantee that this will become a very memorable experience.

Who knows, you might just learn something about how your children or grandchildren perceive you.