Skip to main content

table for two


We are staying in one house.
All 16 of us.

I can’t remember the last time we all slept under one roof.
With 16 it has never been done.
And even when we were just 5. It has probably been over a decade.

My family is on vacation, and instead of the usual slew of condos at the beach,
My dad rented one house in Angel Fire New Mexico.

And I won’t pretend that it is all roses.

It is noisy.
There have been harsh words and too much wine.
But there has also been smores and big breakfasts.
There is laughing and running on the stairs and crying and screaming from too tired toddlers.
More giggles from cousins and splashes in the hot tub.
There is snoring from Paw Paw on the couch.
Cussing in the kitchen and quiet conversations on the deck.
And even though I like this noise.
The loud living together kind.
Last night I needed a bit of a retreat.

So me and just my husband slipped away and headed into Taos for a birthday dinner.

We had no plan and no leads only that we wanted to eat somewhere good and new at a table for two instead of sixteen.

And we ended up at a resturaunt that didn’t look so promising from the outside.
But we went in anyways and chose to sit on the patio.
Which was really more like a small back yard with a grand mountainous view.
The place was small with only a few tables and menu selections.
I chose my wine and meal quickly.

The couple next to us were obviously early in their relationship. They talked nonstop.
Which made me feel a little bad for me and my husband sitting so quietly.

Until I realized that maybe a hushed meal at the base of beautiful mountains was exactly what I needed.
And something you only get after years of marriage and no longer feeling the pressing need to talk or make conversations or impress.
Instead I sipped my wine and felt my heart quiet with each bit of my meal.
I could literally hear my heart slowing down and feel my muscles relax in the quiet.
We stole off of each other’s plates and mostly just listened.
To the wind.
To a chicken cock-a-doodling somewhere in the distance.
And the clink of silverware.
The quiet hush of familiar love.

And we drove the winding road home.
Suprisingly quickly. Like maybe we had had enough quiet for one night.
So we rushed home to our babies and the rest of the noise
And birthday cake for sixteen instead of two.

Again, this is another post from Creativity Boot Camp. Today's random word prompt: hush

Comments

lynmcf said…
I adore your photograph of 16 ... for most of the time, I'm a party of 2, but every now and again, I'm part of a a HUGE family group, and it sustains my soul for the journey ahead ... thanks for sharing

Popular posts from this blog

multiple choice

As I write I am procturing a test ( yes on a Saturday, and no I am not getting paid for it.) The room is silent. The only noises I hear are pencils scratching on papers and pages turning. If I listen closely enough I swear I can hear their brains turning. I have always been a good test-taker. I would still regularly brag about my SAT scores if it wre socially appropriate to do so(or an actual indicator of anything meaningful). There is something comforting about multiple choice. (well as long as you don't have the crappy all of the above or none of the above choices...just the classic A, B, C, D variety). There are parameters. Multiple choice means you have options. The right answer is right in front of you, and all you have to do is find it. Even if you don't actually know which one the right answer is there are usually clues, it can be narrowed down or worked backwards. Even a blind guess is likely to be right 25% of the time. These aren't bad odds. All you have t...

Turning the question

My school has been sending me to some inquiry training. The “i” word has been thrown around since my education classes in college. It is one of those things that is really good as a concept but kind of hard to pull off in the classroom well. For lots of reasons. But the big one number is because teachers are reluctant to let go of the control. To let the kids loose with a concept and see where they end up. Let them discover, own it and share out all on their own. Without intervening. Then push them a little bit further and clear up any misconceptions that they are holding onto before they slip out your door. This is supposed to be the most meaningful way for a kid to learn. For them to discover rather than memorize. One of the other problems with inquiry and science is that kids have stopped learning how to ask questions. My son bombards me with whys all day long. Why are owls nocturnal? (which comes out a lot more like “not-turtles”) Why do I have to take a shower? Why ...

what we mostly forget

Think back. Long and hard. Ten Years. Longer. At least twenty. Twenty five. Thirty. If you are old like me. And what do you remember? If you are like me a lot is fuzzy. Things that stand out aren’t exactly the kinds of things you find in photo albums. My earliest memory is being hit in the head with a pick axe by my cousin. I swear I heard my skull crack. But it couldn’t have been that bad in real life because I don’t even think we went to the hospital. Fast forward a bit. I remember my first grade teacher making me cry because I got my greater than and less than signs backwards. I remember being punched on the playground in second grade. If I sit here long enough and try more memories will trickle in. And some of them are good and happy and wonderful. But most of them aren't. I’m sure I played lots of games of chase and at popsicles and go plenty of smiley faces on my papers. I’m sure I made new friends and wowed them with my wit and strawberry shortcake dolls, but mostly I rememb...