The Dining Room Table
October 26, 2009
We had a small flood in our basement. The only thing ruined was the set of five leaves and table pads that belonged to my parents’ old mahogany dining room table. The table itself was safe in its accustomed place on the first floor, against the wall, its drop leaf sides folded down.
That was what was so great about the table – it could go from nothing to hosting a crowd. That, and the fact that I have eaten both ordinary family meals and special occasion dinners around that table for my entire life – first with my parents, grandparents, etc. etc., and now with my own offspring. I’ll spare you the guilt dream I had that night.
Oh, I know – it’s not things that are important. What’s important are people, human relationships, family continuity. And when you factor in world events? The loss of a table? Don’t make me laugh.
Still, my daughter was bereft. “Grandma’s chicken soup!” she moaned into the phone. “And Grandpa asking me what I was reading!” The possibility of no longer having that table brought back her own childhood; the visits to my parents’ apartment, now long gone.
There are tables, and then there are tables.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.