Letter of the Day (Sept. 25): Regular family dinners

I read the article on the value of family meals ("What's for dinner?," Sept. 22), and I thought of my own experience. We ate together most every night my freshman and sophomore years of high school. Junior year rolled around, and I got my first job. I was gone most nights working the dinner shift, so I wasn't able to come home for dinner. My sisters did sports, so they weren't home, either. I started to notice the pattern of our behavior. We started to talk back to our mom, and we didn't always listen to her like we should. It wasn't anything dramatic, but there was a change. Family dinners are important to me now. Many families can't find the time for dinners or even family time. Even if family time is only twice a week, it still makes an impact.CORTNIE SCHIERMAN, CHASKA