Sunday's "My Life Story" entry No. 5

What activities, besides eating, went on at the kitchen table in the home in which you grew up?

I had a large family -10 in all! Big family = big kitchen table. We must have had a few different tables but the one we had the longest and the one I remember was the big farmhouse style blond oak table with matching chairs. We ate dinner almost every night around that table. My mom wasn't a gourmet cook by any means, but I still have fond memories of the meals she made for us. Something that always accompanied most dinners was a tall stack of sliced bread, homemade grape juice and a dish full of canned vegetables. (Unless is was summer and then we had sliced tomatoes fresh from the garden.) Our meals were simple but balanced. And what was passed along to me was not a recipe box full of fabulous meals, but rather the sense of obligation to gather together the family to eat, play, pray, study, and grow!

Our kitchen table really was the nucleus of our home and it endured many activities over the years: crafts, homework, Sunday journals, family night, boardgames, birthday parties, family celebrations, holiday gatherings, community and church meetings, dad's PPIs, and of course breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's amazing to think of all the many memories that take place centered around one piece of furniture-the kitchen table.


Lesson learned....It's the gathering not the meal that's most important and enduring.