Around the Holiday Table
With the holidays approaching, I strolled through the house the other day, making mental notes of where to place decorations and what items to put away for the season. I paused at the living room hutch, where a Norman Rockwell collector plate caught my eye. “Freedom from Want,” the famous World War II masterpiece, shows a family at the dining room table eagerly anticipating the overstuffed turkey dinner which the mother (or grandmother) holds on a platter. The expressions on each face display anticipation, comfort, happiness and a look of contentment at being part of the family. Smiling, I walked into our dining room and remembered the many holiday feasts shared at that table.
A timeline of sorts can be constructed based on photographs of holidays celebrated at that dining room table, as I’ve hosted nearly every Thanksgiving and Christmas family dinner since 1974. Not only have the place settings changed over time, so has the room itself, as we moved from house to house, but the camera is always focused on the faces around the table. We can see how people have matured through the years as new faces were added, while others disappeared.
At the first Thanksgiving I hosted, my first-born son was ten days old. My parents had flown in from Florida to help with the feast. The orange turkey candle she purchased to decorate that table has miraculously survived for 30 years now. I smile and think of that story each Thanksgiving when I place it on the table.
As other children were born and family members married, the chairs around the table increased. It’s amusing to look back at our old hairstyles and the clothes we chose to wear that day—even knowing family photos were going to be taken. I can almost hear the cries, “Hurry up, the gravy is getting cold.” “Don’t cut the turkey before we get a picture!” “Alright, I guess I’ll take my hat off for the picture…”
I can see in her eyes the pain my daughter was feeling as she bravely strode to the table the day after her wisdom teeth were extracted. With a swollen face, she asked for “just the mashed potatoes…and maybe some Jello, please,” trying hard to smile for the camera. I can hear the voices of family friends who joined the table when one of my children couldn’t make it home for the holidays. And I’ll never forget the year we pitted a fried turkey against a baked one in the ultimate in savory holiday taste tests. Some years, the snow has to be shoveled to clear a walkway to the front door; other years we push up our sleeves to cool off because it’s so warm and sunny.
As I shuffled through the pictures, I noticed that the food was always the same—the traditional holiday feast has seldom changed. Comfort-food recipes have been handed down from generation to generation, each family with their own special dishes. And then, the true test of family acceptance and bonding…when those family dishes are eagerly enjoyed by the newcomers at the table.
After the last plate is washed and the leftovers are divided up and sent home with guests, I will pause to reflect on the laughter and approval heard around the table just a few hours prior. I’ll reflect on the past year with a thankful heart and look forward to what the new year will bring.
Look around your table this holiday, and savor the moment. tpw
A timeline of sorts can be constructed based on photographs of holidays celebrated at that dining room table, as I’ve hosted nearly every Thanksgiving and Christmas family dinner since 1974. Not only have the place settings changed over time, so has the room itself, as we moved from house to house, but the camera is always focused on the faces around the table. We can see how people have matured through the years as new faces were added, while others disappeared.
At the first Thanksgiving I hosted, my first-born son was ten days old. My parents had flown in from Florida to help with the feast. The orange turkey candle she purchased to decorate that table has miraculously survived for 30 years now. I smile and think of that story each Thanksgiving when I place it on the table.
As other children were born and family members married, the chairs around the table increased. It’s amusing to look back at our old hairstyles and the clothes we chose to wear that day—even knowing family photos were going to be taken. I can almost hear the cries, “Hurry up, the gravy is getting cold.” “Don’t cut the turkey before we get a picture!” “Alright, I guess I’ll take my hat off for the picture…”
I can see in her eyes the pain my daughter was feeling as she bravely strode to the table the day after her wisdom teeth were extracted. With a swollen face, she asked for “just the mashed potatoes…and maybe some Jello, please,” trying hard to smile for the camera. I can hear the voices of family friends who joined the table when one of my children couldn’t make it home for the holidays. And I’ll never forget the year we pitted a fried turkey against a baked one in the ultimate in savory holiday taste tests. Some years, the snow has to be shoveled to clear a walkway to the front door; other years we push up our sleeves to cool off because it’s so warm and sunny.
As I shuffled through the pictures, I noticed that the food was always the same—the traditional holiday feast has seldom changed. Comfort-food recipes have been handed down from generation to generation, each family with their own special dishes. And then, the true test of family acceptance and bonding…when those family dishes are eagerly enjoyed by the newcomers at the table.
After the last plate is washed and the leftovers are divided up and sent home with guests, I will pause to reflect on the laughter and approval heard around the table just a few hours prior. I’ll reflect on the past year with a thankful heart and look forward to what the new year will bring.
Look around your table this holiday, and savor the moment. tpw