Slice of Life Story Challenge - Day 7 - The Kitchen Table

It's Day 7 of the March Slice of Life Story Challenge, and I'm writing a goodbye letter to our house in a series of memories since we will be moving in April.

     We were married in July of 1989, and one of the best gifts we got was from Aunt Liz and Uncle Mark, Ed's aunt and uncle.  They gave their nieces and nephews money for a kitchen table when they got married.  We didn't need it right away because we were both grad students at Miami University when we got married; Ed paid for his MBA with an assistantship as a head resident in a residence hall (we lived in Hahn Hall).  As a head res, you got a little apartment. Ours was great!  It was an awesome way to start out because I also paid for my Master's of Arts in Teaching with an assistantship at the admissions office.  We both got stipends, which covered our expenses (which were minimal), and our apartment even came with maid service!  We loved it.  Anyway, it was also fully furnished.

     The following year, when Ed went to work for Andersen Consulting, and I was in my second year of grad school, we moved to an apartment in Oxford so I could still attend Miami.  We used Aunt Liz's and Uncle Mark's money for our table then.  As soon as we set it all up, it was time for the third Friends' Thanksgiving, so it was put to use right away.

     When I got my first teaching job in Mason, OH, we moved to the Landen area and rented an apartment in The Orchards (interestingly enough, it's coming full circle; we're moving back to Landen when we downsize).  The table went with us.  I don't remember a ton about that apartment, but I do remember a table story; we had ordered pizza, and left the room without clearing the table, so there was still a good amount of pizza left.  When we returned to the kitchen area, Sunny, our Cocker Spaniel, was all the way up on the top of the table, gobbling down as much pizza as she could swallow!

     In July of 1992, we moved into our Mason home, on the back 3 acres of my mom and dad's 7 1/2 acre property.  Soon after we moved in, we were expecting our first child...Libby!  Our table hosted luncheons, Christmases, games, dinners, Friends' Thanksgivings, birthdays, conversations, and on and on.  I have a picture of one of our first gatherings around that table in Mason of my grandma, Aunt Jan, cousin Erika, and another cousin's daughter, Kristen.

     We took our table with us to Pittsburgh when we moved there in February of 1999.  The table fit into a beautiful alcove, surrounded by windows.  Lots of birthday parties, crafts, and again, conversations and meals took place there.  One of my favorite photos there was of Bobby, my friend who passed away in 2011, drawing pictures on a table mat (just brown drawing paper) with the kids when they were little.

     That brings us to our current house, where the table sits in a beautiful breakfast room, full of light.  I love watching the birds at their feeders at this table.  I can picture Katie working on her paintings, lots of laughter over games, competition with euchre, Christmas breakfasts, making gingerbread houses, and carving pumpkins there.  It is a table that has hosted a lot of love, family gatherings, and meals. I think this is the last picture I took of a gathering around the table - New Year's Eve...

     Now that we're downsizing, it will need to go in storage - it may go to one of the girls' apartments or houses one day, or somewhere else.  But for now, it is a relic of the past.  I am grateful for its presence in our lives and giving us a place to gather.  Thank you, Aunt Liz and Uncle Mark!