SOLSC: Gather 'Round the DInner Table

This evening Johnathan and I hosted dinner for his parents. We had a great time just catching up with them since they have returned home from a month-long trip to Thailand and China. It is always nice to spend time with either set of our parents, especially when it is the two of us as a couple and them.

I have always thought that when we start a family we will eat meals together. One of my favorite times of the day when I was growing up was dinner because it was the time where we would all sit together and talk about our days. As I got older I realized the importance of sharing that time with my family, and eventually sharing a space at the table with someone important to me, especially when that person was Johnathan. It occurred to me later on that a space at my family's dinner table was more than a chair; it was an invitation to join us in our most intimate conversations, our inside jokes and laughter, and our heated arguments about politics, religion and ACC basketball. A seat at our table would include breakfasts and brunches, times when we don't look our best but we are all comfortable together sharing a meal.

A seat at the table also means that your voice is heard. We have used this phrase often to describe the role of various stakeholders in any given issue, but there is so much more to this idea. Having a seat at the table means having the right to speak and be heard; it means that you are considered a person of intellect capable of making a worthwhile contribution to the conversation at hand.

What used to be a table for 4 has grown to a table for 6 (sometimes 7) members of my family. I know I am cherishing every meal I share with them and always anticipating the next memory we will create by sitting down together. I look forward to sharing this same practice with my own children as our family continues to grow and change. It is my hope that they understand that every person in their life deserves a seat at the table.