The Dining Table

My dining table is traveling incognito. Sure, it looks like a wood table that has seen a lot of use but it’s actually a lot more than that.  Mom bought the table years ago after she saw it sitting on someone’s front porch. She stopped and asked if it was for sale and it was. She re-finished it and that became our dining table. It no longer has the beautiful finish she put on it; it has seen a lot of use. It was probably a hundred years old when she bought it and that was perhaps 35 years ago. There’s a cigarette burn on the top where Dad was so engrossed in conversation that he didn’t notice his cigarette had fallen off  his ashtray. One of the legs leans a bit and the cross-pieces that hold the legs together are scarred from many feet resting on them. But looks can be deceiving.

This table is actually a witness to history. It has heard years of conversations.  If it could talk, it would tell of mealtimes with family members and friends gathered around it. It might whisper of heartaches and a few tears that dropped onto its smooth surface or secrets shared over a cup of coffee. It could boast about my mother’s cream pies with the melt-in-your mouth crusts. It would remember a lot of laughter and a lot of food. But most of all, it would point out the importance of a family gathering around it.

In today’s fast-paced world, it is sometimes difficult to find time for a sit down meal around the table. But even though this is hard, it is nonetheless important. Eating together, talking and listening is an important part of togetherness.

I’ll probably not be looking to replace it any time soon. Memories continue to be made at Mom’s table. Now it welcomes my children and grandchildren, other family members and my friends. Sure, the new tables in showrooms are far more beautiful and certainly less scarred but they are sadly lacking in character. I’ll keep that wood repository of  conversations which is not only able to hold a tasty meal but also a lot of priceless memories.