November 12, 2009

Childhood Perceptions


When I was a girl, we had a large marble top dining room table. As a family we ate meals there, did our homework and a lot of crafts. I remember rolling cookie dough on the cold marble top and setting out trays and trays of cooked ones to cool. It was smooth, solid and seemed to spread out forever. I remember thinking growing up that I could build anything on it because it was huge!

I now have that same table in my dining room. As an adult, it never seems big enough for anything. It actually measures 60" x 36" and seats six people. I use this table to home school my son, to do craft projects, occasionally eat a meal and anything else I need a large flat surface for. It's still smooth as glass and very solid (it weighs a ton and needs two men to move it).
Now however, I wish it were twice a big. The same table that swallowed up anything I put on it a child, has now been dwarfed by the possessions of a adult.

I love this table, but like so many things that held special power when we were children, now that I am an adult, the table is just a table. I look around my home today and wonder what things my son perceives as awesome and powerful? Will it be the tall bookcases? The four post bed in mom's room? Or maybe that very same marble top table?

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