Today I'm linking up with the Five Minute Friday community, writing for five minutes on a given prompt.
Today's word is INVITE.
Last weekend was Thanksgiving, and my brother and sister-in-law and niece came from out of town. There were six of us around the supper table on Saturday night (because Richard had to work till 7 p.m., he couldn't join us till later), so we cleared off our dual-purpose work-and-dining table for the meal. (By the way, it wasn't turkey: it was lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and pumpkin pie.)
As I was getting the table ready ahead of time, it occurred to me that we hadn't actually used it as a dining table in months.
Richard and I used to invite people over all the time. Now, we rarely do, unless it's having family over on birthdays for takeout pizza or a barbecue on the deck.
Right now, mealtimes are hard, even just for the four of us. Jonathan is often cranky at suppertime, first refusing to come to the table, and then pushing away and screaming "DONE!" halfway through, even if we're eating something he likes (which we almost always are). It can be stressful and we don't really want to subject guests to that -- so we don't invite.
When I stop and think about this, I feel a bit sad. Sharing fellowship around a table is important, and it doesn't happen at our house as often anymore. I miss it.
But maybe this is just a season we are in, and it will get better with time. I've learned from experience that the best approach is to have realistic expectations -- whether about hosting, or anything else in life.
I'm so right there with you. I have a 16 month old and we've just moved so it's hard to round up people for dinner. Yes, this is just a season, but if you love to host as I do, this is a hard season to plow through!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. I hope you make some good connections soon and get back to hosting. Have a great weekend.
DeleteYou'll get through this season!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tara! Appreciate you being here today.
DeleteI know how you feel. We have dinner at the table when we eat at home. Tonight we enjoyed a wonderful dinner out as a family. It is so important to connect each evening. Will pray for you that this time becomes better. Thanks for visiting today.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Mary: great to have you here!
DeletePS. Happy Thanksgiving. We celebrate in November here in the states.
ReplyDeleteRight! I know it's probably the biggest holiday of the year there, isn't it.
DeleteJeannie, I really enjoy reading your Five Minute Friday posts & getting a glimpse into your life as it relates to the topic. We rarely use our dining room for dining; right now, it's covered with the teen's English project--a poster-sized map of Middle Earth!--and a 2K puzzle of Van Gogh's Starry Night, finally completed after months of labor from my husband, the teen, the almost-tween, and me, who contributed to the work by wandering in to the room, picking up random pieces, looking at them, shaking my head in bewilderment, and wandering out to read a book.
ReplyDeleteI envy you Canadians getting to celebrate Thanksgiving in October. Here, it's almost buried between Halloween & Christmas. Some stores are already selling Christmas decorations. Sigh.
Thanks for your thoughts, Laura. I love the idea of that Starry Night puzzle! Jonathan enjoys puzzles but 200-250 pcs is probably his limit.
DeleteIf we had a big house maybe a formal dining room would make sense. As it is now, Allison and I sit side by side at our laptops, looking out the window. It is a great work spot.
Yeah, I like having Thanksgiving over before the Halloween mania.
Your Thanksgiving post focusing on the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness and its second chorus' line "Summer and winter and springtime and harvest" leads me to think of this as a season as well, Jeannie, and that God is with us in all these seasons.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Tim. There is nothing wrong with it not being always "summer." Thanks.
DeleteI, too, love the fellowship - and life - that happens around the table! And I need to use my (larger) table much more often!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Jennifer: I appreciate your taking the time to read and comment.
DeleteOh the fellowship will return ... with new faces and heartwarming conversations! So good to meet you this week, Jeannie ...
ReplyDeleteBlessings around your table this weekend!
;-}
Thank you, Linda: it's really nice to have you here today.
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