No matter how good the program is on television I am unrelenting on one fact: We eat at the table.
When my husband and I were dating (and still sometimes to this day) one of the daily arguments we would partake in was eating at the table versus eating on the couch in front of the television.
“Sharing a meal is so natural. We are celebrating life by feeding it. I like to concentrated on the meal and the company. ”
If you read my post about preparing a meal, then you will already understand why it would not work to have this meal in front of the television. While I love my sitcoms and intense television dramas, and I do, I love eating more. At meal times it is the only show I am concerned about.
Table Rules
As I reached my late twenties and had such luxuries as a table the ritual of eating upon it became non-negotiable. This was a rule I had grown up with in my family but had disregarded during college years. I invested in things such as candle sticks, placemats, and matching dishes. Now as I am putting the finishing touches on the meal I set the table, fold the napkins (a fun habit I picked up from working at Commander's Palace in New Orleans we would make fans or fancy folds for every plate overtime), light the candles, and put on a great conversation station (my favorites are Louis Armstrong & Diana Krall although sometimes a Fiest or Florence and the Machine station creep in).
The important part for me is to sit and actually enjoy the food I am consuming. Talk to my friends or simply reflect on my own. Sometimes there is wine and sometimes not. If I have guests over there is always dessert. However normally this is something I skip during the week. Unless upon going to the bakery I find something I could not live without like a chocolate croissant. It doesn’t take my coaxing to split this treasure with my husband while the dog waits patiently for us to get up from the table, so she can hopefully get some scraps (we NEVER feed her from the table. She now knows we must get up and go into the kitchen before she gets anything. She sits on the edge of the couch watching us like birds of prey for a hint of upward mobility.).
Upon finishing the meal we give Belle her rightful scraps (if there are any left that are appropriate) and do the dishes. There is something about relaxing after you have done this that makes it feel so much sweeter. And that is not just the dark chocolate dessert talking.
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