Round > Square

For my 40th birthday, I received a new dinner table. That might seem odd to some, but the dinner table means so much to me. I grew up with nightly dinners around a family dinner table. We all had our own spots around the table, I can see my mom up serving tea when glasses went empty. Some of my favorite foods in life were eaten and conversations were had. We lingered there. Relationships were really built there. And while I never made a conscious choice to carry the tradition of eating around the table each night with a family of my own, it just came naturally to me. 

The times our family have spent around this table are precious to me. Favorite meals, sometimes leftovers, laughter, deep thoughts, decisons, dreams, stories - all shared around this table. We've played cards and board games. Guest have joined us. Birthday cakes have been eaten, puppies have chewed on chair legs, toddlers have sat on top of it. It's a screen free zone and we meet face to face!! It's my very most favorite time of day. I love to love my people with food and I love to sit and enjoy them. I've cherished and stored up in my heart the past decade of 3,000+ meals here. They are treasures to me. I love this table and all it represents. All the people who gather here mean the world to me. Now we will pass this table on. It will be the vessel used to join people together, to eat, laugh, visit, play games, make memories and build relationships. 

For my 50th birthday, I wanted a new table. Our family will be changing. In the next several decades, I suspect we will be adding people on a somewhat regular basis. When we have extended family over, I want everyone to have a place. Our church has a saying that relationships are built in cicles, not rows. I love the idea of a round table. To see the faces of the people who gather here. To serve from the middle, to pass the food, Talks and ideas, dreams to be shared, laughter and love - my family. 

How I love my people! The ones I know and the ones yet to be.