Day 22- 30 Days of Gratitude
Gratitude #22: What is your favorite family tradition?
I remember having a ‘kids’ table for holidays at my grandparents’ house. While in some ways it was nice–we escape the discussions of politics and the like that send the adults coming in to check if the ‘kids had enough food’–there was something about it that felt like we weren’t really a part of what was going on.
When we started to be the house where Thanksgiving and Easter dinners were celebrated, I had to give a lot of thought to how to seat everyone. My ‘dining room’ had been turned into a sitting room when the formal living room became our office. Even if I’d had a dining room, it wouldn’t have been large enough. So I had to get creative.
Challenge accepted.
Thankfully, my guys are accustomed to my pushing the boundaries with creative approaches and embraced my weird concept with gusto. We cleared out the front hallway, lined up several tables and scavenged chairs from nearly every room. After we covered it all with four or five tablecloths, if you stood at a distance and squinted, we had a dining table that would seat fifteen.
Yes it was unconventional, very snug, and required some planning as to who got the middle seats and who sat with access to the downstairs bathroom. But, everyone, adults and children, was able to sit together and enjoy each other’s company. Having the kids–now all young adults–at the table truly has added something special to the events. I’m grateful for our kooky, unconventional ‘dining room.’
I used to have Thanksgiving every year but my one daughter took up the practice maybe 8 or so years ago. However this year we are not going to her house even though we are invited and her mother-in-law and father-in-law are coming. I am high risk for COVID-19 and try to stay in quarantine as much as possible. I did bake my usual pies and my husband took one down to her when he went to our granddaughter’s soccer game (outside so safer). I will miss seeing or whole family together in one place.