“The convivial table is where it all begins,” I once read with immediate agreement and wish I could remember where and to whom it should be attributed. Naturally I liked the word “convivial” because it denotes lively feasting and banqueting with loved ones, being in good company with lots of good food for all.
I was perusing an old issue of Architectural Digest recently, a lovely magazine I try to pick up from the annual library clean-up sale, when I saw an ad for Electrolux appliances which said,
“In my kitchen: I preheat a memory. I fold in old friends with new. I bake a good laugh.”
I enjoyed the clever marrying of cooking and baking terms to the meaning of life. There’s an ad person with a poet’s heart, methinks.
And isn’t the kitchen truly the lifeline of home and family? Is this not where we experience unforgettable laughter and memory, the aromas of love and home-cooking? Isn’t it in the kitchen we hear the music of the percolating coffee, the sizzle of the bacon, the the beep of the timer signifying the wait is over, the promise has arrived? Is this not where we see the garden’s burst of color and taste of life itself?
The convivial table is life-giving. The convivial table is a place of gratefulness and feasting. “The convivial table is where it all begins,” and the place we keep hoping to get back to and should visit often.
I my kitchen I…what?
Eat, drink and be merry with some people you love…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: Tomorrow the table will be laden with fish tacos and fruit pizza for Tristan’s birthday (hey it is his menu!), and with love for him and loud talk and laughter amongst all.
pictured: a table spread for Christmas cheer moments before the lively and much-loved guests arrived
The kitchen has always been my favorite part of the house. I remember, in college, we lived in a very, very, very (did I mention VERY?) small apartment and, though the kitchen was a galley-style, with barely enough room for two of us to fit, we crammed in there. We sat on the counter, on the floor, on the dining room table just outside the door, wherever we could. We had some of the best times there-sharing food, and laughter, and planning our lives.
There is actually room in my house now for gatherings to occur elsewhere, but everyone still migrates toward the kitchen. It’s still the place we share food, and laughter, and plan our lives. I wouldn’t have it any other way. :)