Relative Something

Since we didn’t have Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year, my siblings didn’t get their annual chance to be with the old family table, so I am presenting this for their benefit…

I mostly am reminded of trying to do my homework as a schoolboy, when I look at the pattern of dots marking the border of our table. The pencil lead would poke through the paper when you weren’t paying attention and strayed too close to the edge.

The other main memory I have of this table is that it was almost always covered by accumulating newspapers, magazines and old mail, sewing projects, or at the far end, an occasional jigsaw puzzle. There are 5 center leaves available to expand the table to a length that exceeds our present dining room. When Mom allowed Cyndie and I to have the table, she did so with one requirement: we needed to host Thanksgiving, because it was the only table large enough to accommodate everyone when we all gathered.

Now Mom is gone, and some of the family is out of town, so the remaining family has been spending the Thanksgiving holiday with families of spouses. At least that means we didn’t need to clear off the table for a big meal. Lo and behold, it has a sewing project on one end, and fresh home-made holiday treats that Cyndie and Elysa produced over the weekend, on the other.