Tables

The best thing I got for Christmas this last year, among the video games, movies, and the beautiful quilt my girlfriend's mom made me was a 6 foot folding table. It's gray, metal legs with a plastic top, at this point it has a couple paint stains from when I was converting my laptop and NERF guns into Steampunk, and a couple scratches from heaven-knows-what, but I love it. It's one of my favorite things and I'm going to probably have it with me till the day I die.

 I remember growing up and sitting at the blue metallic table in our kitchen. I can remember my family sitting around it to play no-stakes poker, or a hand of Uno, or just chat about our day over dinner. It was always comforting to just be there and sit with each other and feel like one of the adults. There was something equalizing about the experience. Even if it was just my brother and I playing action figures on it, the kitchen table still just felt like the best place to do it.

I moved out of my parents house when I was 18, and for a very long time I didn't really have a kitchen table. I moved around a lot and most of the "bachelor pads" were just too small for one. My family moved as well and the same problem seemed to happen with them. On my mission I would occasionally have one, but eating was much more of a necessity then a social experience then, so it just didn't seem to carry that same weight. I didn't love my family less, nor did I not feel connected to my mission companions, but that table aspect just wasn't there.

I didn't start to notice any of this table business until about a year ago. My mom went out and bought a kitchen table at Walmart. It was a simple thing, metal legs, with a wooden top that could be scratched by a moth flying outside, but as soon as we had it it just felt right. It was like a long-lost loved one had returned. It immediately became used for everything, from eating to cramped-in Dungeons and Dragons in the little alcove where it sat. I just loved it so much because that feeling of connection was there again, and I could share it with new friends and family now.

I have once again moved out of my families house, into a home which had a large space we eventually nicknamed the "Play Room" because we were always playing games there. And if you don't think that a group of 20-30 somethings need a play room as much as children do, then you've never seen us. The only problem was we had to play on the floor, which lead to problems getting up after long hours of gaming. It was also awkward for those of us with bigger bellies to comfortably reach anything. My sweet mother knew this and for Christmas she bought me the 6 foot folding table. To most this would be a very strange gift, but in all reality it was the best thing she could've given me. It allowed me to sit with my friends comfortably and play games, chat, and enjoy meals together. The first chance I got after Christmas I held a "We survived Christmas!" party with the table. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to see my dear friends crammed around my table, playing Killer Bunnies and just being themselves.

To me, the whole point of gaming, geeking, this blog, and the Church is really to build a sense of community and family, like what we once had before coming down to this Earth. That table represents more to me than just a place to sit, but a way to share my life with people who I love and care about. Having a table means I can be myself with them and not worry what others think. To quote Jessica Simpson (Oh shut up she's a good singer!) "I can say anything crazy and know you'd catch me right before I hit the ground."

The table breaks my fall.

-JOE