Lessons learned around the table

Six years.

It has been six years since I sat at that old table.

You know the one.

It sits with placements under a simple tablecloth. In the middle there sits notebooks and pens in the napkin holder, beside that a bottle of banana peppers and a salt shaker. A tea cup of water sits next to the chair on my left. Under the tablecloth and under the placement, you can find some petty cash, just enough to pass out to the grandkids when they come. In the background general hospital is playing on the small tv in the corner.

It’s been six years since I sat at that table.

Six years since I’ve heard your voice. Heard the wisdom of a life well lived.

I sat at that table almost every day growing up. Every. Day.

Six years is a long time to go without something, especially something your soul depended on daily.

That table has seen me at my very worst and at my very best. It has seen my joys and my sorrows. That table has heard all my dreams, and all my secrets.

The table didn’t just take, it gave and gave some more. That table taught me many lessons over the years.

When I was little it taught me how to play penny poker and drink apple juice shots. It taught me that just because you saw Pepsi being poured in a cup you should always sniff that cup first. -or better yet just ask for your own-

As I got a little older it taught me about hospitality. How everyone is welcome and there is always room for one more. It taught me that you never have so much that you can’t give to someone else.

As I got older it taught me the value of hard work. It taught me that anything worth having is worth working for. It taught me that nothing in this life comes free and if it is, you better pay it back ten fold.

As I got even older it taught me to follow my dreams. That it’s okay if people -even your family- don’t agree. It taught me to listen to my elders but never forget who I am, to follow my dreams. Listen to their advice, but in the end to choose my own path.

It has been six years since I sat around that table, yet I still keep learning lessons from it.

But let’s be honest, it’s not really the table, but it was the person at the table.

A strong woman who I am thankful to call my grandma. A woman who I dearly miss.

I still pick up the phone when something major happens. Your still one of the first people I want to call. I long to hear your voice. To hear what you have to say. I’d like to think you’d be proud of the life and family I have created.

I can’t believe it has been six years.

But I am so thankful for those lessons learned around the table.