Mike,
I have two sons. One (26) is on his own and has struggled to make a living up until recently. He lost 4 years to a bad girlfriend, thank the lord she is gone, which accounted for much of his struggles. He is 4 hours away, but calls the wife all the time. We are always giving him advise, much of which lately he has taken to heart as he finally realized what we were saying all along had value. My other son (22) is trying to finish college. He has his own challenges and typically does not want to hear what we have to say. We told him the money train stops after this year if he doesn't finish school (5 year program). He is slowly coming around to listening to us, but often has an attitude because he knows better.
I guess the long and short of it is, your situation, while bad in your eyes is so much better than many of us. I wouldn't trade mine for anything as it could be a lot worse. While I wish sometimes my relationships were better and I strive to make them better, I think yours, because it sounds to be very strong will only get better and this is only a small dip in the road.
Last thing, my wife always felt strongly about the dinner thing too. She always insisted on having a family dinner at the table everynight would could. I think this really helped to instill a sense of family for the boys and wouldn't have it any other way. We saw too many of the kids friends who didn't know what it meant to sit down and interact with the parents in a meaningful way. Dinner everyday is a perfect way to drive that point....
