Growing up, our kitchen table was the heart of our home. It was where we settled after school, ate a snack and did our homework. Every night we gathered as a family for dinner. One of the chairs, the one closest to the back door was where we say each morning so that my mom could do our hair, usually a braid. Chairs were added when company came and the table became crowded. For every celebration, milestone, and every day moment, the kitchen table was at the center of it all.
When we first bought our home, pre-kids, we picked out a high top table. It became the heart of our home, where we ate dinner together, did work, and gathered with friends and family. But as soon as our oldest daughter was ready to join us at the table, it was clear that this table would not do.
For Christmas that year, my parents surprised us with a new table and chairs. I remember seeing Wren sitting at the table for the first time, using all her might to climb up on one of the big wooden chairs, and feeling like all was right in the world. Our home had a heart.
Today, our kitchen table serves as my home office, a preschool, kindergarten, and second grade classroom, and a place for projects. It’s also the place, where these days, we are able to gather every night for a family dinner…something that didn’t happen regularly during the work week just two weeks ago. Most days, we push aside the devices, books, and writing utensils that now call our table home. It’s messy and chaotic, kind of like our lives, but it’s our gathering place and the heart of it all.
Where There's Joy 
I love the sentiments in this post. The thinking back to the dinner table of you childhood to your gift of a new table and to today and how the table is the hub of your family. Embrace these days surrounding that piece of furniture that holds so much of us together!
LikeLike
I love how the kitchen table can bring out so many memories. My mom had one that was eooden and we used to look at the words and signatures we could find from doing our homework and signing papers over the years. I love the memories the kitchen table holds and the many uses it has too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That makes me think of the markings on our table. I remember one time my sister got nail polish remover on the table and that was not a good day!
LikeLike
The kitchen table is 110% the heart. I love the image you paint of Wren joining you at the gifted table! Having dinner with everyone is another one of those silver linings these days!
LikeLike
I just read Dawn’s comment and had the hardest time figuring out how the table had qualified for the gifted program…commendable, sure, but did it really stand out from the other furniture. Then I realized what she meant and felt sort of dumb. I like that it’s both the heart and the history of your family. It’s a connector. I’ll bet some would say that actually, you are the connector, but that might make the gifted table jealous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For so many of us, the kitchen is the heart of the home. I love how you organized this, beginning with your childhood kitchen table, through the high top, to your current multi-purpose (because of the current situation) table.
LikeLike
Love this entry! It was just like that when I grew up, and even today, everything seems to happen around the kitchen table. It is where I do most of my writing. I have two large bay windows to look out at the backyard. Thanks for including some photos! So much heart in this piece!
LikeLike
Kitchen tables are so much more than tables! Ours has become a classroom, office, our gathering place. And so much more!
LikeLike
Yes, I think kitchen tables and dogs across the country are rejoicing in their new found connection and company. Wonder if we will readjust our lives when this is over. What will we learn? What will we prioritize? What will we change?
LikeLike
I had to laugh because I remember when you decided the high top would not work and your parents getting you the new table! You must have a kitchen table you love!
LikeLike
Your opening line pulled me right in. My kitchen table was the same growing up. So much feeling in this memory from the past and today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Didn’t you write a post about the table once?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I did now that you mention it
LikeLiked by 1 person
So many gifts. I love a kitchen table. It’s the most useful piece of furniture. We have gathered around several kitchen tables, not all of them ours. They are the place for love, work, fun, nourishment, and really important talks.
LikeLike
My kitchen table is command center! It looks like it too. Great post. 🙂
LikeLike
I teared up reading this, Jess. Our table is serving a lot of different purposes right now, but yes, it’s the heart as it’s where we gather.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love how you used the table to show the major shifts in your life, including this current one. Our table is serving as classroom and office right now, too, as well as a gathering spot. Beautiful post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
”It’s messy and chaotic, kind of like our lives, but it’s our gathering place and the heart of it all”
A great anchor with the table- loved the last line
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤ Yes! This is honestly part of the reason that we renovated: we needed our kitchen to be (literally) warmer because it is the heart of our home. I love this little insight into your heart, your home, your family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have never sat so long at my kitchen table before this week. I have a desk in the other room, but enjoy having my laptop in the “great room” during most of the day. There is a jumble of chargers on a long charging strip. I also moved some bar chairs over to remove the devices when it is time to eat.
Thanks for this snapshot into how we are all using spaces while confined to our homes.
LikeLike