Todays Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

[Guest guest]

The Dining Room Table

By Kay Collier McLaughlin

The deep brown mahogany of the dining room table was burnished with the

soft patina of age and loving care. If wood could talk, it would tell the

stories of Sunday dinners, birthday parties and hundreds of other family

celebrations that spanned four generations.

Krista remembered well the first time she had sat at this table at the

home

of her in-laws-to-be. The wonder of polishing it in her own home as a young

bride. She pictured each of her children joining the family circle around

it,

in high chairs, youth chairs, and finally " big chairs. " How many birthdays,

Christmases, Thanksgivings they had shared the bounty around it!

In just a few days, the table would be moving again, returning to her

former husband for his new home and life. Of all the belongings that had

been

divided, this was the hardest to part with, she realized. To her, it

represented a family gathered; traditions, continuity. Things that were not

hers anymore. She couldn't imagine how her children would feel when the

movers

came. She had been able to rearrange the furniture in most of the other

rooms,

filling in gaps. But when the dining room table moved out, it would leave a

huge hole - one she couldn't afford to fill. Yet how, she wondered, could

she

not provide the place of community and sharing that was also a part of what

this

table represented?

Suddenly she knew! " Meet me in the dining room, " she called to Betsy,

twelve, Ben, fourteen, and , almost seventeen.

When they were seated around the table, looking at her curiously, she

said,

" You know, this table belonged to your dad's grandparents and great-

grandparents, so it is going to live with him. We have all had wonderful

times

around this table, and we're going to have a going-away party for it

Saturday

night. I want you each to invite two of your favorite friends over, and

let's

plan a menu we'll all enjoy . . . "

Saturday night came quickly. Soon they were twelve gathered around the

antique banquet table, its leaves extended once more in welcome. Three

middle-

schoolers, six high-schoolers and three adults told stories of birthday

parties

and dinners and homework sessions, and the making of valentines and wrapping

presents.

They laughed. They remembered.

Just before dessert, Krista asked if everyone would join in clearing

the

table completely. When it was bare down to its exquisite surface, a dozen

pair

of hands carried the table to the garage. Then a dozen pair of hands lifted

the

" new " secondhand table Krista and the kids had discovered in a thrift shop,

and

carried it into the dining room. Carefully they laid it with the finest

linen,

silver and china, along with an array of decorations they had individually

created just for this night. They lit candles, turned on the music and

pulled

their chairs around the table.

Krista lifted her glass and looked around the circle. " I want to

propose a

toast - to friends we love - who make our table a place of celebration! And

to

all of the celebrations to come! "

And so it was a grand celebration. An ending, a continuation - and a

new

beginning.