Our square meals

            This past weekend while others were out taking advantage of Black Friday and post-Thanksgiving sales to buy Christmas presents for others, we decided to treat ourselves to a MUCH needed new kitchen table.  

The first kitchen table that Tim and I purchased right after our wedding, was a nice butcher block table that seat 4.   It was still in great shape 7 years later when we welcomed our third child and outgrew it.  (It went into the garage where it sat for years until we unearthed it to use for our school table, for which it works quite well.)  After baby number three came though, a neighbor offered us a hand-me-down table that had room for 6.  It was a long oval shaped table that kept us so far apart we had trouble passing food.  Tim and I had to stand up and walk around the table to cut our youngest son’s food because he was at the opposite end of the table from where we sat.  Besides that, the table was not in great shape when we got it and it was not a style I would have ever chosen.   But it did accommodate our growing family--  so for 9 years we have shared our meals around that old table despite the fact that it was sort of unattractive and had a leg that was sort of cracking.  

            Anyway, our fifth child is now really ready to graduate out of her high chair.  So, we could put it off no longer-- it was time for a table that would seat all seven of us.  I was thrilled to finally have an excuse to retire the old hand-me-down table.  

Furniture shopping with five children along is such a production!  At every store, all the kids felt the need to share their opinion on every table we looked at and every sales person felt the need to sell us, not only on their table, but on their company as well, trying to convince us that no other store was even worth looking at. Still, we persevered and found the perfect table!

            As silly as it sounds, our new kitchen table has been quite an exciting new addition to our home.  It is square and seats 8.  After years of sitting at a long oval table and feeling like we were miles apart from each other at dinner- we are all cozy around our new square table.  It is plenty big enough for all of us to sit comfortably and, best of all, no one is stuck far away on the other side of the room anymore.  We are all hanging out more in the kitchen and sitting around the table even when it is not mealtime.   We are talking around the table and spending time together.  

As I have mentioned before, I believe very strongly in the importance of family dinners.  I feel sharing our meals together is one of the best things we do to build strong families and to connect with each other each day.  Our family dinners always start with Grace and end with the Rosary.  In between those prayers, we share about our days and play silly games over food my oldest daughter and I have prepared together.  Dinnertime is a (mostly) beautiful part of our days and a special time to be together without distractions or interruptions.  So now that we are finally all able to sit down to dinner at a beautiful, sturdy, and cozy new table, I pray that our meals will bring us closer together in more ways than one!

(I tried to post a picture of our new table and "Blogger" informed me that I have reached my limit for pictures.....not sure what  to do about that.......for now, I'll have to paint beautiful pictures with my words, I guess)