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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to start your meals with a toast,

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Speaker 1: not to special occasion meals, but everyday meals with your family,

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Speaker 1: because starting your meals with a toast makes them special.

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Speaker 1: In the absence of kid activities and commutes, more people

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Speaker 1: are sitting down for family meals these days. This creates

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Speaker 1: an opportunity to enrich family dinners with intentionality and rituals.

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Speaker 1: Since you can clink glasses of milk as easily as

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Speaker 1: glasses of wine, you can involve the whole family in

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Speaker 1: the toastmaking. One option is for family members to take

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Speaker 1: turns making a toast to start the meal. Maybe on

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Speaker 1: Sunday you make the toast, then on Monday the person

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Speaker 1: who sits to your right and so on. Starting your

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Speaker 1: meal with a toast offers a chance to share your

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Speaker 1: good wishes at a time when we could use an

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Speaker 1: extra dose of optimism. Maybe you describe noticing the first

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Speaker 1: buds on the rose bushes in your yard. You reflect

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Speaker 1: that summer is coming. Then you make a toast to

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Speaker 1: our roses and their promise of new life, or maybe

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Speaker 1: on family game night, you make a lighthearted toast to

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Speaker 1: an evening of good games and my continued rain as

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Speaker 1: Monopoly champ. Making a toast can give family members an

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Speaker 1: opportunity to recognize people who have made a positive impact

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Speaker 1: on their days and to honor those making a difference.

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Speaker 1: If your spouse did loads of laundry yesterday, you could

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Speaker 1: describe your relief at opening up your sock drawer to

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Speaker 1: find it replenished. You raise a glass to Tom and

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Speaker 1: clean socks. Or you might make a toast to healthcare

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Speaker 1: workers who keep us healthy and teach us courage. The

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Speaker 1: youngest members of your family can enjoy simply saying cheers

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Speaker 1: or its equivalent in different languages like sante or salute.

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Speaker 1: Clinking glasses is fun for everyone. Families that already say

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Speaker 1: grace before a meal can make a toast afterwards, or

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Speaker 1: they can make a toast with dessert. They could also

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Speaker 1: have everyone in the family take turns offering a spontaneous blessing.

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Speaker 1: It's empowering for kids and adults by the way to

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Speaker 1: build their skills and confidence by speaking in front of others.

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Speaker 1: Giving toasts or saying prayers prepares people to be thoughtful

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Speaker 1: leaders in workplaces and communities. You can even count learning

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Speaker 1: to make a toast among your kids homeschooling accomplishments. Rituals

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Speaker 1: like starting a meal with a toast or a blessing

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Speaker 1: elevate the occasion. They set the tone and add meaning

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Speaker 1: and connection. That's a lot of upside for just a

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Speaker 1: few words. So today consider starting your family meals with

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Speaker 1: a toast, just like I end these podcasts with my

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Speaker 1: own version of a most you know the sign off

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Speaker 1: right in the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite show All Can't Again,