My Plastic Folding Table Story
This would be my first year hosting the annual family Thanksgiving dinner at my house. From the first Thanksgiving I can remember up until this year we had all gathered at my parent’s home and celebrated the holiday, with grandparents, aunts, uncles and various and assorted cousins. Earlier this year my mother had sold the large and spacious home of my childhood.
Plastic Folding Table to the Rescue
She had moved into a retirement community, because the up keep on the house, my four brothers, sister and I grew up in had become more than my mother could handle, on her own. My father had passed away several years earlier, leaving her to rattle around in the house alone. Since I am the oldest daughter my mother thought the Thanksgiving dinner torch should be passed to me, mostly because my younger sister could hardly boil water much less produce a Thanksgiving dinner for the army, we affectionately like to call family.
As we had grown into adults and married my five siblings and I had caused our family of eight to turn into a family of twenty –seven. My mother has promised that she would be there to help prepare the food just as I have helped her since I was old enough. My mind was going over the grocery list and seating arrangements for the big day, as I drove towards the school to pick up my three children. The food preparation was not my biggest hurdle to clear it would be where I would seat all of these family members.
Oh how I longed for my mother’s big formal dining room and the table that could easily seat twelve, or better yet the days when I would sit at the children’s plastic folding table and have a plate of food placed before me. No muss no fuss, just eat and escape to play afterwards. Longing for those care free days of my youth, I continued to review the mental grocery list I had running through my mind.
After I got backpacks and children unloaded, and the children settled at the kitchen table working on home work, I started my own home work. I pulled out recipes and made a real shopping list. My mind kept drifting to the seating arrangements. Our dining room was not even close to being as spacious as my moms was, when Jake and I had bought the house we never envisioned seating and serving dinner to this many people at once. Plus our family had not been quite as large as it is today.
Our dining room table could seat eight easily ten if we crowded it. The children would sit at the plastic folding tables we used for outdoor birthday parties but what of the adult overflow. First things first, finish the shopping list so when I dropped the children at school tomorrow I could get my shopping finished before I had to pick them up.
The groceries all put away I wandered in to the dining room and leaned against the door jamb and looked at the table that could, if push came to shove seat 10 and wondered once again where was I going to seat 13 adults. I turned and walked back into the kitchen glanced at the clock realizing it was time to head to the school. I decided that another mind on the seating situation might help; I would discuss it with Jake tonight and see if he could help me with this dilemma. As luck would have it Jake called and said that he was going to be late getting home. He was right, he was late and I was exhausted and sleeping soundly when he slid into bed next to me, the seating arrangements far from my exhausted mind.
Enjoying our Plastic Folding Table
Jake was gone by the time I rolled out of bed the next morning so he would not be able to be my sounding board on the seating. My mom was coming over to help with what could be made the day before the big event. Mom, that is the answer, she always could solve problems, and maybe she would have a thought or two on my dilemma. When mom arrived I explained what had been preying on my mind for the last two days. We went in to the dining room and surveyed the situation. She told me she still had a plastic folding table in her storage closet and she could bring it tomorrow when she came and we could place it in front of the window and at least we would all be in the same room. With that settled we went back to the kitchen to chop, dice, slice, bake and boil in preparation for the big day.
Thanksgiving Day arrived and the food was just about ready to be placed on the table when my family started to arrive and as each of my brothers entered the house they each carried a plastic folding TV table. Giving me their best little boy looks, explained that the guys had discussed, with my loving husband the seating arrangements. They thought maybe if they brought their plastic folding TV tables, we women would let them sit in the den and watch football while they ate.
My mom and I burst out laughing all of the stress of the seating for nothing; the guys had a solution the whole time. It would have been nice if they had shared the plan with me. The dinner was a great success and now we will do it all again for Christmas without the worry of the seating situation.