The meals served. The birthdays celebrated. The conversations had. The tears shed. The games played. The plans made. The advice and forgiveness given. All of this happened at the kitchen table at my house when I was growing up.
It seems like such a simple thing. And it is. What was the conversational center-point at your house in your childhood? I think so much about everything that happened around the kitchen table at our house. It really seemed to be the conference room of our lives. We ate together there. Celebrated together there and covered about any topic of conversation you could ever imagine there. And I often wonder now how much fellowship is actually had around tables in the homes of people all over America.
So I have a question. What are you doing to recreate “the kitchen table” in your home?!! Are you having a kitchen table time with your family? I mean are you creating a space on your home where everyone can just sit and visit. A safe place in your home to gather and check in with one another. Now more than ever, we MUST unplug. Disconnect to CONNECT. It is a time I still look forward to everyday. Even now that it’s my husband and me, I look forward to the now, “table” time. When I was raising my kids, we had table time. It was where we gathered. Either in the morning or the evening, we came together to catch up with each other. Sometimes it was a fleeting moment. And other times it was hours. But I can tell you it was and is worth every single minute. And I want to encourage you to facilitate it every day in your home, too! It is imperative that we connect with our tribe every day.
In the Blue Zones book by Dan Buettner, he lists several commonalities that centenarians share is they connect with their tribe every day. Even at age 100 and beyond connecting is key. And the importance of it starts young. It becomes an integral part of who you are, it a daily thing. And it starts with you and the habits you start at home. The kitchen table is a great place. But if you don’t have one, pick a place to have everyone gather. But the key is to gather. That’s it! That’s all!
Make sure to have kitchen table time every day. You will thank yourself and you may learn a thing or two in the process. But it is a moment of connection. And , eyeball to eyeball…the best ever!