A wonderful thought brought up about a usually forgotten about piece of furniture. I have started becoming an empty nester. I brought one son to college this past week. One son will be moving into his first apartment in two weeks and my daughter will be off to college in January. Even though I grew up where eating at the table was a rule, so was no talking. So we all just sat there. I have made it a point at least once or twice a month, recently since it seems not everyone is here at the same time, that all five of us sit down and eat and talk and check in on each others lives. I started asking my kids their favorite thing that happened and what they thought was dumb every dinner time since they started grade school . I learned the hard way... "how was your day?" "Good" "What did you do?" "Stuff" early on. These questions actually engaged thoughts and feelings from everyone in the family and we had great discussions. Our dining room table has been a source of fun, discussion, imagination, and frustration and I'm glad for all of it. Thanks for giving me a different way of thinking about it.
Tiersa - 11 years ago
This is really a beautiful capture! I like all the voices and purposes of the one table.
When my grandma passed away on Thanksgiving day, there was a song out by Kenny Rogers about the season coming around again and it made me think a lot about the holiday table. I had written a long rememberd piece that I had shared at my grandfather's service, but for my grandmother, who I was much closer to, I found myself listening to that song, but really at a blank at how to capture the enormity of who she was. She had lived 99 and 7 months years, and after letting that song and image of the Thanksgiving table mellow in me, I wrote a piece, that in the end, my brother and I read together, line by line at her service I want to share it with you, because your table blog here, really expands, for me, what I wanted to say - as you suggested - its but an analogy. What I think I need to admit, is that each of these tables that I mentioned in her life, all have their own writing to be done.....
Gramma's Tables, by Tiersa Harkins Helwig
The Lord’s table where she took her first communion.
A Square Donut shop table or the red spinning stools that sat up to the counter.
Diapering tables of her grandchildren.
The table for visiting over a good cup of coffee at someone’s house.
The Table of the Rocking Chair.
The School Board Table.
The Type-setting table and the typewriter table.
An Alaska Cruise Ship Table.
The Pool table of Sunshine Acres.
The Leaburg table that over looked the chipmunk pen.
The European Tables or the Tea tables of Victoria.
The North’s Chuck Wagon Table displaying her hand-crocheted dolls.
A table of Chinese food.
The breakfast table at the Sunshine Café.
A dressing table for her wigs.
A table set up with a good Chess game.
A yellow wheelie overflow table, when there was too much food or not enough room for the coffee and punch.
A TV tray to eat a piece of Christmas pie from.
A Table in front of her Fall Creek window overlooking Elmer’s birds.
Her sewing table.
The Courtyard Table with her friends .
A library table to preview a good book.
Uncle John's Historic table honoring her 50th Anniversary cake surrounded by orchids
Her family table in Greene Iowa.
The seat-back table of an airline jet to Hawaii.
A Hospital bedside table that she couldn’t wait to be done with.
A computer table also known as a desk drawer.
A family holiday table filled with her bread and butter pickles, pickled beats, green jello salad, baked squash, cranberry relish.....
A Land Grant Coffee Table
Card table with pinochle players surrounding
A fold up coin-sorting and jigsaw puzzle table
A table boosting a Christmas tree so that it could touch the ceiling after the top was cut off.
A Picnic table along the roadside or in her back yard.
A table at any diner across United States from Yellowstone to Florida.
A lap table to write a puzzle on with a dictionary aside.
A bedside table with an all-night reading lamp.
Five generations at a Final dinner table giving Thanks
Thanks for lettting me share, and for sharing your blog! T.
A wonderful thought brought up about a usually forgotten about piece of furniture. I have started becoming an empty nester. I brought one son to college this past week. One son will be moving into his first apartment in two weeks and my daughter will be off to college in January. Even though I grew up where eating at the table was a rule, so was no talking. So we all just sat there. I have made it a point at least once or twice a month, recently since it seems not everyone is here at the same time, that all five of us sit down and eat and talk and check in on each others lives. I started asking my kids their favorite thing that happened and what they thought was dumb every dinner time since they started grade school . I learned the hard way... "how was your day?" "Good" "What did you do?" "Stuff" early on. These questions actually engaged thoughts and feelings from everyone in the family and we had great discussions. Our dining room table has been a source of fun, discussion, imagination, and frustration and I'm glad for all of it. Thanks for giving me a different way of thinking about it.
This is really a beautiful capture! I like all the voices and purposes of the one table.
When my grandma passed away on Thanksgiving day, there was a song out by Kenny Rogers about the season coming around again and it made me think a lot about the holiday table. I had written a long rememberd piece that I had shared at my grandfather's service, but for my grandmother, who I was much closer to, I found myself listening to that song, but really at a blank at how to capture the enormity of who she was. She had lived 99 and 7 months years, and after letting that song and image of the Thanksgiving table mellow in me, I wrote a piece, that in the end, my brother and I read together, line by line at her service I want to share it with you, because your table blog here, really expands, for me, what I wanted to say - as you suggested - its but an analogy. What I think I need to admit, is that each of these tables that I mentioned in her life, all have their own writing to be done.....
Gramma's Tables, by Tiersa Harkins Helwig
The Lord’s table where she took her first communion.
A Square Donut shop table or the red spinning stools that sat up to the counter.
Diapering tables of her grandchildren.
The table for visiting over a good cup of coffee at someone’s house.
The Table of the Rocking Chair.
The School Board Table.
The Type-setting table and the typewriter table.
An Alaska Cruise Ship Table.
The Pool table of Sunshine Acres.
The Leaburg table that over looked the chipmunk pen.
The European Tables or the Tea tables of Victoria.
The North’s Chuck Wagon Table displaying her hand-crocheted dolls.
A table of Chinese food.
The breakfast table at the Sunshine Café.
A dressing table for her wigs.
A table set up with a good Chess game.
A yellow wheelie overflow table, when there was too much food or not enough room for the coffee and punch.
A TV tray to eat a piece of Christmas pie from.
A Table in front of her Fall Creek window overlooking Elmer’s birds.
Her sewing table.
The Courtyard Table with her friends .
A library table to preview a good book.
Uncle John's Historic table honoring her 50th Anniversary cake surrounded by orchids
Her family table in Greene Iowa.
The seat-back table of an airline jet to Hawaii.
A Hospital bedside table that she couldn’t wait to be done with.
A computer table also known as a desk drawer.
A family holiday table filled with her bread and butter pickles, pickled beats, green jello salad, baked squash, cranberry relish.....
A Land Grant Coffee Table
Card table with pinochle players surrounding
A fold up coin-sorting and jigsaw puzzle table
A table boosting a Christmas tree so that it could touch the ceiling after the top was cut off.
A Picnic table along the roadside or in her back yard.
A table at any diner across United States from Yellowstone to Florida.
A lap table to write a puzzle on with a dictionary aside.
A bedside table with an all-night reading lamp.
Five generations at a Final dinner table giving Thanks
Thanks for lettting me share, and for sharing your blog! T.