Tables

Today, I went to a "workshop" for work. It really wasn't a "workshop" but more of a way to get to know my coworkers better.

At the end of the day, the person conducting the workshop, talked about growing up at the kitchen table. This, too, made me think of my upbringing and our dining room table(our kitchen was too small).

No matter what was going on, our family always had dinner together. In the summertime when they were out in the hay field, we had dinner late, but very rarely did we dine separately for dinner. Being the youngest of 5 children, we had a larger table. Of course, I always had to sit at the end between my parents. As our family changed and siblings got married, I had to go back to the kids table!

The dining room table was host for a lot of hot topics in our family. That's where we caught up on each others lives, got in trouble, learned about our ancestors, did our homework, set up the sewing machine and various other activities. Not only was our table a place for hot topics, it was the hot place to be in our house. Some people's families may have spent a lot of time in the family or living room, but our living room was just a place to watch the news or occassional TV show or movie. Everyone always met back at the table.

The dining room table is where I became the person I am today. I learned about family, history, working together, accepting others unconditionally, and how to share. I learned what made my family tick. This is where we celebrated our holidays and special occassions. This is where we learned to be unique and have a sense of humor in life. But most important, this is where we learned respect.

There is another table that comes to mind when I talk about the tables I grew up with. That is an old picnic table that we butchered chickens on. You may me thinking "gross" or "what lessons in life did you learn there?" When I was a child, we always raised chickens. Every so often, my parents would butcher them. When it was time to butcher, they invited several other families to help out. In turn, these families got to take home some chickens. I didn't really help butcher much, but I loved playing with the other kids who came out. This table taught me the value of friendship and being neighborly.

You may be thinking, how can a table teach these things? They can't. But when you are sitting around a table with friends, family, and those you care about, you learn a lot about them and yourself.