If This Table Could Talk
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Today I want to celebrate this spot: our dining table.
This round black table hasn't been around forever. In fact it was purchased in January 2012, a few months after Chris had moved out. The previous long rectangle table we owned together fit better in his house and I was open to getting a new one.
A fresh start for new stories.
Along the way I purchased some chairs from Ikea and the grey couch from Overstock.com (originally purchased for another room until I wondered if it would fit in this spot) which is definitely the favorite feature of the kids and the cat.
I love this space.
It gets used every day for meals, for conversation, for homework, for coloring, for reading. I love the windows that wrap around and the different light that comes in over the course of the day. I love opening the windows when it's pouring rain just to hear the sound as it comes down through the trees and onto the patio or on those early days of spring and summer to bring in fresh air.
This table has seen and heard many things. Harsh words and kind words. Tears and laughter. Giggles and jokes between siblings. It's been piled on and spilled on more times than I can count in it's life with us. It's been a resting place for adults and kids alike.
I take at least a couple photos there every month because it's such an anchor in our lives.
Sometimes a kid or two is sitting there doing whatever it is they are into at the moment. Sometimes there's simply evidence of our existence: books, computers, the newspaper, or a set table waiting for companionship. Sometimes I'll place my camera on the kitchen counter and use the timer to make sure I'm captured in the mix.
The things we own are pieces of our stories.
If this table could talk it would tell stories of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners, drinks consumed, old and new friends, lives shared, computers, newspapers, coffee, hot cocoa with marshmallows, coloring books, homework, Santa letters, cut flowers, plans made, books read aloud, laughter, tears, laughter that turns to tears, birthdays, wishes, legos built, taxes, best part of the day/worst part of the day sharing, strategies for getting Simon to try more foods, secrets whispered, frustrations expressed, forgiveness granted, Anna jumping up and down on the couch and me telling her to sit on her bottom (over and over again), holidays celebrated, songs sung, manners taught and re-taught, one too many bean & cheese tostadas to ever count and so much more.
Is there a story you can tell about a piece of furniture or an area in your house? What stories would that piece/space tell if it could talk?
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95 comments
I loved how you told your stories/photos from a different perspective, through the use of your dining room table. How nice!
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This is brilliant, Ali! I'd never have thought about the story of the table in our kitchen, in fact I've often thought people who see my PL pages must surely notice that I take way to many of my photos around that beat up old relic. You are such an inspiration, I think our table needs it's day in the limelight, lol!
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Thanks for sharing, Ali. I LOVE the story the photos tell. Thanks for the motivation. I have so many photos of us around our kitchen table and never thought about the story those photos were telling. Thank you for prompting me to document it. Please share how you're able to keep your table "scratch-free" and your couch "stain-free"?
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Love this! Kind of reminds me of your "31 Things" class. I remember writing a poem about the clothes in my closet in high school, in a similar way to "if these clothes could talk". I like the concept of making an inanimate thing into more of a character in a story.
You always inspire me to stretch my creativity a bit!
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You have definitely knocked it out of the park with this post. How simply lovely to see the fixtures in our house as fixture in the process of telling of our stories. Thanks again Ali
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I love this!!!
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Love this.
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If I were to write about anything in my house, it would be my bathroom. There are so many things that happen in there (especially when you have sisters). LOVE that couch!
xoxo
Taylor
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Absolutely beautiful. I hope that one day my family can have a space like this.
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Beautiful story of something so oridnary yet so important in your life! Love it!
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Great inspiration! Thank you!
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This is such a wonderful, brilliant post Ali!
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Ali, you have such a gift for sharing life while inspiring all of us the take a moment and enjoy life. Th caption "If this table could talk" illustrates the reality of our gathering places. Thanks for sharing and reflecting with us! Oh, is the sofa curved, as it appears to fit gently along the window and table.
PEACE,
Tammy
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Hi Tammy - thank you :). It is curved - it was seriously made for that space.
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Love this post Ali. Such great stories around that table. I have those same feelings about the table that used to be in my parents dining room where I grew up. So many great memories. Thanks for sharing those.
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So inspiring and a lovely example of 'pushing' (that's not the right word) the story. You could have said one or two paragraphs but instead kept going extracting every perfect drop of it and what a story it is. Always loved that place in your home.
I'm sure I could do the same with the table on our patio. Thanks as ever for the inspiration.
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This is one of the most heartfelt and wonderful blog posts you've ever done. Love it! I regret that we don't sit around our table more. It's in the dining room (our kitchen is small) and we rarely sit there. I wish I had photos like this!
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I love this. What a cool idea. I love the photos showing time and memories.
I'd love to read more techniques for getting Simon to try new foods. I have two boys who like to stick to what they know.
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What a great post!! It's the most inspiring text I've read in a long time. This (the everyday-stuff-posts from you) make me look at my scrapbooking/project life in a different way. Thank you!!
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Oh, George. That photo made me giggle.
The kitchen table is the heart of the home. What a beautiful reflection for your family. What a great story to scrapbook.
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That sofa is genius! Love the pic of George!
k8
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