The dining room table, where I have learned much of what I share with you.
When I was little, I never understood why I HAD to eat EVERY meal at the dining room table! Most of my friends were able to eat in the living room or in their bedroom and this little girl just wanted to eat her Frosted Flakes on the sofa!
Little did I know, as I would grow older, sitting around the dining room table, eating a meal with my family, would be one of the very best parts of my day.
Also, little did I know, that right now at almost 27 years old, the memories that have been made in this setting would help shape me into the person I am today.
Man, if only this table could talk…
It would probably sing many, many happy birthdays, let out a few tears and it would most definitely say, “I want seconds!”
But what you would hear most is laughter.
Thinking back to almost 20 years ago, I was nearly 7 years old. All of my grandparents were still living and many Sundays we spent gathered around our dining room table for Sunday lunch.
My mom would whip out the china, we shared stories, my Dad was cracking jokes and my Nana blessed the meal before the first bite of food was taken.
I’m sure 20 years ago I didn’t think I would be looking back today wishing so desperately to sit down and have Sunday lunch with them. I may not have know it then, but these times around the table were significant…every single one.
Over the years, our conversations around this table have changed. The people that gathered around our table have changed. Some join us every holiday in heaven and some wonderful little ones have blessed our family and have filled the empty seats.
What I love most is seeing these little ones sitting around the table with us, joining in conversations and absorbing every word being said.
What I pray is that they feel the same way I do when they are adults.
It seems that in the blink of an eye we went from practicing how to spell my name with my spaghetti to talking about home owner’s insurance and property taxes- eww!
Though many things have changed over the 27 years spent around our table, there is one thing that has not changed…I will always leave each meal feeling a little wiser and a little more fulfilled.
Don’t get me wrong, we are NOT the Partridge family. I have left this table many times crying, not finishing my meal and slamming the door to my bedroom, but I learned something.
What I learned is that time spent around the dining room table was and is invaluable. No matter how the conversation sways, there is always something to be learned.
If God blesses me with a family of my own, I will raise them just as I was raised- sitting around the dining room table.
