Having family meals as an occupation

2025/02/10

Previously, I wrote about Yuri’s story which she shared with me about her family meals. Yuri married. Because of her long commute and her husband’s 12-hour shifts, they had an unsynchronized time schedule.

They worked together to prepare dinner. While eating together, they relaxed and enjoyed talking about things and happenings in their lives. As the days went by and as they had many meals, they were able to understand each other better and become a family.

How do you prepare and eat meals? Who do you have a meal with and what do you do during the meals?

Today I will share with you a view of family meals as an occupation from these angles:

the form of family meals as an occupation,

the function of the occupation,

and the meaning of the occupation.

To look at family meals in a big occupational picture, let’s imagine Yuri’s experiences of family meals. We also check Yuri’s situation and challenges that the environment gave her.

Having a family meal as an occupation

Situation: Yuri worked for a hospital as an occupational therapist and lived with her parents.

She married in her late thirties. She wanted to keep her career. After she married, Yri and her husband had an unsynchronized schedule pattern because of their work and long commute.

Environmental challenge: Yuri and her husband had an unsynchronized schedule pattern because of their work and commute. That was an environmental challenge that prevented them from creating their new life together.

The form of the occupation: Yuri had long commutes, so it’s hard for her to prepare dinners. When she chose curry rice for their dinner, she emailed her husband to start preparing dinner. He sliced vegetables and meat, and cooked them. Yuri finished the curry rice when she came home. They ate the meal together. She felt safe and glad, during the meal, they enjoyed talking about things and planning their life.

Yuri was happy that they have built a family while accumulating their meals in their everyday life.

The function of the occupation: They were going to make a new life after they married, but their time schedule wasn’t synchronized.

Having a family meal supports them to build their family. Whenever Yuri chose curry rice for dinner, she emailed her husband to start cooking. Once she came home, Yuri finished it. They ate the meal together, talked about happening in their life and talked what to do next. They engaged in interacting while preparing and eating the meals. That supports them to understand each other, and to decide things about their life and future. Working together makes them feel safe and satisfied with being together. Accumulating such family meals, whichever either rich or simple, and satisfactory or nor, supports them settle down in their new life. That also supports them to belong to each other and build a family together.

The meaning of the occupation: For Yuri, accumulating family meals is synonymous to building a family. That supports them to belong to each other as a family.

That makes her safe and feel happy. Throughout preparing and eating meals together, they make a place, where they are safe, active, close to each other, knowing each other well, and communicate well, in their new life.