~Bona Vita~

Tone is an author’s attitude toward her work or audience.  It may be formal, informal, sad, satirical, humorous or serious.  This tone creates the mood of the entire piece.  The mood created from the tone is the prevailing feeling or the emotional state of mind throughout the work.  Tone is fluid and thus can change throughout the piece.  However, the mood set in the beginning  will generally not change.

Everyday you, as a mother and a wife, are writing the story of your home.  The tone you set will create the prevailing mood in your home.  This will manifest itself in the behavior of your children and in the relationships within your family.

A lovely tone can be set by creating a beautiful atmosphere at any meal.  Proper planning and preparation will allow you to enjoy a calm, peaceful meal.   Your family is worthy of table linens, including cloth napkins, and even candles.  The presentation of food with a balance of color and textures will turn the simplest meal into a great experience.

The mood you create at your dinner table will have a wonderful effect on your family.  One of the potential effects of this may be increased family time as  you all  begin to linger over meals.  You can raise your expectations concerning your children’s manners as you train them in a lovely setting.   Start small and realize the  power you possess to create a lovely atmosphere in your home.  The Book of Proverbs states “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down”  (Proverbs 14:1).

I am often amused by the preconceived ideas some have about our life at home with nine children.  Concern has been raised  that we might be overwhelmed with chaos, clutter and crayon marked walls, not necessarily in that order.   This supposedly all  occurs as we serve our family non-descript  casseroles and fish sticks on a regular basis.  What a picture.

In reality, our home is generally characterized by a peaceful atmosphere.  We all enjoy  a beautiful, uncluttered and yet, cozy home.  We meet at the dinner table for terrific meals prepared with tasteful ingredients.   And we all, from the yougest to the oldest, help to maintain this environment.   We have been blessed and our gratefulness manifests itself by working together to maintain our home life.

A sense of beauty and contentment in a home is a mindset, not a function of size.  Order and a sense of aesthetics can be instilled in children from their earliest years.  Train your children to respect their home and to be grateful for their surroundings.   They will ultimately imitate you.  Your desire and willingness to create a lovely, peaceful home will be the example for all in your house to follow.