2002-Ode-to-the-Green-Table
Iowan, Jan 26, 2022
- Description:
- January 26: Remembrance or Tribute - Rae
Bundle (add on) M3 November 2021 by Little Butterfly Wings
Mixed Media Monthly: I Delight In Solitude by Rachel Jefferies & Paula Kesselring & Lynn Grieveson & Little Butterfly Wings
ODE TO THE GREEN TABLE
My parents reached adulthood during the Great Depression and, like many others, struggled to achieve prosperity even after the depression. Both parents were from farm backgrounds in rural Iowa. In 1954 we moved from the farm where my father was born and raised in southern Iowa to the farm where my mother was born and raised in eastern Iowa. The largest room in the house was the dining room which was probably typical for most farm families. I was six years old when we moved there. Not too long after we moved to the new house, which had actually been built in the 1800s, my mother decided that we needed a new dining room table. At that time, Formica had become very popular and my parents purchased a table with a green, Formica top. The color was close to emerald green and there were white, silver, and black flecks in the table top. The table legs were chrome as was the wrap around edge of the table giving rise to thoughts of a diner. I am sure that Mom would have preferred a beautiful wooden table but that was, no doubt, not in the budget. The chairs also had chrome legs with green plastic cushions. The table was very functional. It was relatively light weight so it was easy to move if needed. At Christmas it always faced east and west and had all of the extensions in place. Mom would bring out a pretty table cloth to cover the Formica and make the table more festive. During more normal times the table usually faced north and south. Nicole maintains that the table was north and south so that Dad could catch the farm reports while eating dinner at noon, whereas I remember me being at the head of the table for several years while I was growing up which allowed me to watch TV in the evening while eating. Laurie’s primary memory was a longing to graduate from the kid’s table to the Green Table at holidays.
The Green Table was, in reality, the center piece of our home. Breakfast, dinner and supper were eaten at the Green Table. Note: this was farm country. If we had lunch, it was a fourth meal at mid-afternoon on days that heavy farm work, such as hay bailing, was taking place and lunch was eaten in the field so as not to disrupt work for too long. After we got a television there was a period of time where TV trays became popular and we children would forgo the Green table in the evening to watch TV while eating. However, we always eventually returned to the Green table. School homework was usually done at the Green Table along with various school projects. Games were played at the Green table. I played many a game of Cribbage with my father at the Green Table as well as numerous other games that the family would play. Basketball and baseball games that were won or lost were discussed at the table. Events of the day would be discussed at the table.
I was the youngest in my family and eventually my sisters and I moved out of the house to pursue our lives, but when we would return for a visit or a holiday, the Green Table would still be there. When I would return home during summers while in college, the Green table would be waiting. The summer before my senior year in college I got a night shift job at a packing plant and when I came home at one AM, my parents would get out of bed and we would talk around the table for a few minutes before returning to our bedrooms and sleep.
Our daughters also got to experience the Green Table as they grew up when we visited for holidays or just a visit. They got to help Grandma In the kitchen but, as always, the Green table was there. As my parents aged, the table was pushed against the south wall of the dining room because there were only two people eating at the table then. Eventually the table outlasted both Mom and Dad, and it probably ended up in a land fill somewhere after we sold off the belongings and, eventually, the house itself. However, the Green table still lives in my mind and the minds of our family with memories of the wonderful meals prepared by my Mother and the good times we all shared around the Green Table.
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- Category:
- Pollywog Team Layouts
- Uploaded By:
- Iowan
- Date:
- Jan 26, 2022
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- Comment Count:
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