The kitchen table may soon join the ranks of butter churns and handheld eggbeaters. In many homes, it has been replaced by kitchen islands where kids and adults grab a quick bite on the go. Sit-down lunches and dinners have given way to microwavable meals and conversations such as, “You can eat that in the car,” or “Grab your soccer shoes.”
The 1997 cookbook “Naomi’s Home Companion” was dedicated to the kitchen table. The late Naomi Judd declared it the most important piece of furniture in the home — a place for gathering, sharing and creating memories. Even back in 1997, Judd believed the kitchen table was becoming endangered. Naomi knew.
In the 1970s, I taught at a neighborhood school in Michigan, and my husband worked nearby. Each day, students walked home for lunch, including our son and me. As I prepared lunch, my husband and son sat at our kitchen table talking about their mornings. We did this every day. Looking back, I had no idea that way of life would someday fade away.
Dinner was served in the dining room. Think “Leave It to Beaver,” except I worked while June Cleaver stayed home. We shared stories about our day and connected with each other. The table was the heart of our home — our lifeline. It framed both the beginning and the end of our days.
When we moved to Texas in 1982, things changed. The kids and I ate lunch at school, and my husband stayed at the office. Our kitchen table became the gathering spot for breakfast and after-school homework. The kids worked on assignments while I prepared dinner and checked what their teachers had assigned. It was around that table that I learned what was happening in their world.
At the time, there was talk that students might soon begin eating breakfast at school. If that happened, children would spend two meals a day at cafeteria tables instead of at home. What would happen to the family table?
In our early years as a family, the kitchen table connected us to our children and to each other. Today, we no longer have a kitchen table or children needing help with homework, but we still gather around the dining room table for holidays and game nights, sharing our lives and making memories. Naomi was right — the kitchen table was the heart of the home, and it is missed.
Rotary’s Connection to the Kitchen Table
Many people around the world have no food to put on their kitchen tables. Area Rotary clubs are teaming up with Rise Against Hunger on July 16-17 at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church on Morriss Road in Flower Mound.
The community pack-a-thon aims to assemble more than 300,000 meals for hungry children while also collecting 1,500 cans of food for local food banks.
You can help by donating money or volunteering July 16 or 17. Come alone, bring a friend or join with coworkers. Many companies send employee groups to help at the event.
For more information, visit TMUMC.org/RAH.
Help us put food on their table.
Flag Program
Order your flag for Flag Day and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States. Rotary clubs provide flags for residential and commercial use. For more information, contact your local Rotary club.
Upcoming Events:
Trash Pick-Up with Lewisville Noon Rotary — 9 a.m. June 6. Volunteers meet at CVS at FM 407 and Garden Ridge Boulevard.
Rotary Wine Social — Steve’s Wine Bar, 111 Industrial St., Denton, from 6-8 p.m. June 16. The event is held the third Tuesday of every month.
Area Rotary Clubs Invite You to Join Them
Highland Village Rotary Club
Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Salerno’s Italian Restaurant on FM 407
President: Candy Wade
hvrotary.org
Lewisville Noon Rotary Club
Wednesdays, noon-1 p.m.
Bistecca Italian, Highland Village Road and FM 407
President: Leslie Thompson
lewisvillenoonrotary.com
Cross Timbers Rotary Club
Fridays, 8-9 a.m.
Courtyard by Marriott, 4330 Courtyard Way
President: Bob Phillips
crosstimbersrotary.com
Lewisville Morning Rotary Club
Thursdays, 7:15-8:15 a.m.
Main Street Café, 208 E. Main St., Lewisville
lewisvillemorningrotary.org
Flower Mound Rotary Club
Thursdays, noon-1 p.m.
Salerno’s Italian Restaurant on FM 407
President: Sheldon Connell
flowermoundrotary.org
Denton Lake Cities Rotary Club
Tuesdays, 7-8 a.m.
Oakmont Country Club, 1901 Oakmont Drive, Corinth
President: Cathy Henderson
dentonlakecitiesrotary.com
Denton Noon Rotary Club
Thursdays, noon-1 p.m.
Greater Denton Arts Council, 400 E. Hickory St., Denton
President: Vicki Byrd
Submitted by Candy Wade
