If you own just one piece of furniture in your living space, own a table. I think 90% of all memories are made at a table. I may be overestimating that percentage, but then again, I’m from the South where we incorporate food into everything we do.
I’m pretty sure that I bought my dining room table before I bought my couch, and to this day, it’s really the only room that I feel is completely finished. The rest of the house needs work in some shape or form, but not my dining area. I made it my priority.
My husband and I eat our meals at the table, and sometimes my dog sits at the table as well. When we have kids, they’ll be sitting here with us every night. It’s necessary to take the time to unload your feelings of the day on that table, share stories, and just be together. The table strengthens relationships.
When my family gets together for the holidays, a birthday, or just because, we always end up sitting around the table for hours. We eat our main meal, sit for a while, eat dessert and drink coffee in the later hours, and if we’ve sat there long enough, we may go back for leftovers. I remember when I was younger, the adults would play board games and laugh like crazy. I’m not sure why we haven’t played a board game in the recent years. Maybe I should suggest that we do. Anyways, everyone sits around that table and catches up on life. It’s times like these I’ve always cherished.
Friend gatherings are much the same, only there’s less eating and more drinking. Whether we are at a friend’s table or at a restaurant/bar table, there’s always good times to be had. The conversations that flow between my friends over drinks at a table are irreplaceable. I should probably start jotting some of them down for use in a later blog post.
Groups at a table are the best, but even in solitude, a table can be amazing. I write at my table. I find that my head is clearer at the table with minimal clutter. Again, it’s my favorite spot in the house.
Obviously, the table has been historically symbolic, dating back to Biblical times. Here are a few quotes that I enjoy:
“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?” – Albert Einstein
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” – Ronald Reagan
“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“No matter what message you are about to deliver somewhere, whether it is holding out a hand of friendship, or making clear that you disapprove of something, is the fact that the person sitting across the table is a human being, so the goal is to always establish common ground.” – Madeleine Albright
Power In Pearls 