My husband and I purchased our dining room table some years ago, after I passed the stage of the large glass table we bought for our apartment eating area when we got married. This one is well-made out of real wood and, while we didn’t have kids when we got it, it seemed like the perfect “family” table, especially with the accompanying leaf.
It still looks pretty nice when it’s all decorated up, but remove the place mats and centerpiece and you’ll see that the surface isn’t nearly as smooth and shiny as it was when it was new.
But do you know why I still love this table? Because when the girls pull out the paints or the play dough, I don’t have to hurry and find something to cover and protect my table. We try to wipe up the milk quickly when it spills, but it’s not a major disaster. While I teach our girls to be careful, I’m not obsessed with keeping my tabletop perfect.
When the kids are much older, I may decide to replace this table. Or, those faint scratches, dings and stains may mean all the more to me then.
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When my mom moved to a smaller house, she gave me the same dining room oak table that we had when I was a teenager. I still have that table 30 years later. It has some dings on it but that's okay. I don't often have to impress anybody but when I do I just use a tablecloth-or not.
I have a solid maple dining room table that is 51 years old. It was a gift from my husband's grandparents. It has seen some rough times. My three children are grown and married now. The table bears scars from years of children's play. Glitter is embedded in places where I used to decorate my granddaughter's dance costumes. We have painted, colored, crafted, sewed, played games, and had many a family dinner at that table. We are about ready to get a new one but I am thinking we just need to strip and stain it. I don't want to say goodbye to it.
I am glad that you have yours. Through the years the marks and pits will also make a story and a memory for you.
Iris
Hi,
Thank you for visiting my blog, and leaving a comment. I enjoyed reading this sweet post. We have a dining table that is older than my older daughter (who is almost 25). It has seen a lot of wear over the years, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Have a lovely weekend!
First off, thank you for stopping by the blog. And secondly, I also have a story to tell you.
I have a very old table that was given to us by my dh's grandmother. She specifically wanted us to have it. A few years back we had the table worked over so we could put more leaves in and so it would look a bit nicer. However, my dh requested the antiques dealers NOT remove the marks that made it special. There is a water stain from where his grandfather set his glass at EVERY meal. There are cigarette burns where his gpa put his cigarette down during the many card games that table saw. And the list goes on. All of these are precious to my husband. And now there are marks of our own. And I love it!
I told myself years ago when I bought a set of dishes I absolutely loved that I would use things b/c otherwise my children would have no memories attached to the things we would be able to pass down. It is not the china that sat hidden in a cupboard that never got used for fear of breaking it that holds cherished memories…it's the dishes everyone used and loved day in and day out.
Anyway, just thinking out loud here that the imperfections in your table are memories…precious memories. 🙂
Blessings,
~amy