Time To Take It easy, Don't Eat and Drive

I am reading more and more newspaper stories about the dangers of eating and drinking coffee or latte while driving.I'm reminded of something that happened to my husband's nephew, who is a lawyer in Rapid City.  He was eating a burrito while on his way to his office, when he accidentally rear-ended the care in front of him.  The rear -ender happened when some of the ingredients of the burrito fell into his lap as he was eating, and he looked down to see what fell.  He bumped into the car in front of him, activating his air bag, which inflated with such force that, like an exploding grenade, it blew the burrito out of the car's open window, spattering it all over the windshield of a car driven by a woman innocently approaching from the opposite direction.  The hapless woman complained  to the police who had come to investigate the rear-ender that some kids threw the greasy burrito at her windshield.I'm trying to make a point here that we are all so busy that we find it necessary to eat and drink in or cars, rather than slowing down a bit to enjoy a casual meal at the table, either at home or in a restaurant.  Studies have shown that people are becoming more and more stressed because of the way we over-schedule our lives, especially, in my view, our children's lives.  We seem to have something to drive our children to every hour of the day after school is finished-either to piano lessons, to soccer, to ballet , you name it.  It not only stresses out our children, but it stresses us as well.  And I'm as guilty as the next person.But it's not only stress that results, but it's the way we eat and what we allow our children to eat which is one of the causes of obesity in our children.  We are becoming addicted to food that is not only fast, but unhealthy.Most countries that I've observed, such as in Europe and Asia, do not have the same flurry of activities for children that we do, but somehow their children grow up able to display a talent of music or for sports, and especially in their testing in school, where they seem to shine.I believe that both we and our children need time to relax and to meditate on what our lives are all about.  And I do believe that our children need quiet time in order to cultivate their imaginations.Our objective should be to decrease our self-imposed stress and preserve at least one night a week so that families can spend the time with each other over a home-cooked meal, discussing school, world events, or whatever is of interest.  I honestly believe that this can become addictive and will improve all our lives.