Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Grandma's table...

Most of you see a table, I see a legend, a piece of history. I see love and laughter, tears and sadness beginnings and endings. I see a member of my family. This is(was) my grandmother's table. We all grew up around it. Her children, her grandchildren and great grandchildren. I remember weekends staying with grandma and grandpa and having breakfast,lunch and dinner around this table. Grandma taught me how to play Crazy 8's and King's Corner, snap beans and grind walnuts around this table. The countless poker and cribbage games.
We had many a holiday and birthday meal around this table. The birthday cakes and horrible renditions of the birthday song this table heard over the years.
When I was a confused, scared and unmarried(but engaged) mother to be, I sat at this table and cried to my grandma that everyone was mad at me for being unmarried(but engaged) and pregnant. (only a slight hormonal over exaggeration) Grandma told me she loved me, and that it was all going to be ok, and I believed her and it was. This is the table we sat at when grandpa died. I sat by my uncle Pat while he fixed a hair dryer and talked about "finding" grandpa. I still remember the stoic look on his face. I believe every bit of history long forgotten and never forgotten are engrained in the wood. The hearts of the people that sat around it and talked and laughed and cried, are all still a part of it. I cherish this table and every time I see it in my dining room I can almost see grandma or grandpa sitting there at the head of the table, looking out the window. I will never see this as "just a table." I am so thankful it resides with me and can be passed on to her great(or even great great) grandchildren some day. The new memories we are creating around it will only add to it's charm and beauty, What a beautiful gift.