Family Table?

To me, the family table is the place where it all happens. Meals, homework, art projects, reading the paper with coffee in the morning. It is where the groceries land when I come in the door, where people always end up gathering at parties. We gather and pray, eat, talk and discuss (and occasionally argue). When I think about friends' houses, I think about the times we have gathered at the table, drinking wine, playing cards late into the night. I remember the food shared, the laughter (and sometimes tears) as we come together. I remember the ones no longer with us, the tables long gone, with memories remaining. I mark time by remembering when each child, and then the dog, could no longer walk under the table without bumping a head. I remember when the babies left the high chair and joined us officially at the table.

What happened at our table today? Breakfast in the early morning, paper read after the school runs were completed. The afternoon saw homework times two, then cleared for dinner. All the while the floor underneath patrolled by the canine guardian.

What will happen tomorrow? Probably much of the same -- ordinary everyday magic.