Thanksgiving was always spent with my mom's side of the family. And it was a big to-do when we'd go to Aunt Peggy's house (more about how I came to call my grandmother Aunt Peggy later!).
As you may have read earlier in this self story series, Aunt Peggy was a very stylish and elegant woman and when she entertained she set a beautiful table: real lace tablecloths, silver utensils, china dishes, linen napkins and crystal glassware. The dining room table was always occupied by the adults. It seated quite a number of them, but alas there was no room for the children as well. So, just a short distance from the dining room, in the grand hallway by the front door, "The Kid's Table" was created and this was where anyone under the age of 15 sat. There weren't too many of us as you can see. But aren't we sweet, saying Grace so nicely before the turkey is carved? That's me with my back to the camera, and my cousins Rick, Barbara and Carol from left to right.
We were always instructed by our parents to "behave ourselves" at the kid's table and for the most part we did. Aunt Peggy also did her best to make us feel grown-up by setting the kid's table as nicely as the Grown-up table until...
the year that Rick decided to play with the Crepe Paper Turkey centerpiece that was always in the center of our table.
"Look! I'm a turkey!" he exclaimed grabbing the Gobbler and putting it on his head. Three girls giggled at his antics. Spurred on by the obvious success of his funny-business, he squiggled off his chair and clambered under the card table.
"Gobble, gobble, gobble, I'm going to gobble you up!" he said as he tried to tickle our legs. Now instead of giggles he was greeted with squeals and patent-leather shoes kicking his hands away. "OUCH!!" he said when one shoe connected with his shoulder, and without thinking, he stood up.
Off flew the crystal glasses!
Off flew the china!
Off flew the silver!
Water splashed everywhere and the little card table tipped precariously to one side.
Parents suddenly appeared from several directions to pick up the shattered glass, collect the scattered silverware and check on the condition of the china. Rick was scurried off by my uncle and returned several minutes later with a contrite face and lengthy apology. The girls were given our share of disapproving looks from our mothers and we did what we could the make sure the tablecloth was back in place and the table reset. We said little for the rest of the meal.
And the next year we had everyday dishes and flatware (shown above) and metal cups.
We love retelling this story and have probably recounted it every time we manage to get together! "Pandy" is the name of the home where my grandparents lived. I don't recall how it got the name or why. Sadly it is one of those stories lost to time now. But the year Rick tipped the Kid's Table story will live on forever!
i could barely remember an event where i sat at the kids' table but we were using the same implements as the adults. there was always the reminder to "be careful not to break anything, it's expensive we won't have any money to pay it back." i mostly only remember the food i ate. :-) great lovely story.
That brings back memories. In our house growing up we always had a children's play dining table and chairs, a smaller version, and if we had dinners the little ones would get to eat there all by themselves, and they loved it.
Oh my! I love it and remember our own kids table and how grand it felt the first year being seated at the grown up table. We shared holiday meals with my mom and three of her cousins taking turns hosting so always a different table but the same faces around them.
hilarious! Our kids' table story involved flinging glasses of grape juice at each other. Grape juice was never served with groups of children in nice dresses ever again (well, for a while anyway).
This pic is a precious memory! How cute! And what a story! My brother and I ALSO have a "getting up to no good story" involving a card table. We love to retell it too. It's called "Baby Digby." My brother laid on the floor under the card table (in the TV room in basement) and put his feet up on the bottom of the table. WE put a blanket over it and called it a space ship. I somehow ended up with a "baby" named Baby Digby...it was a rubber hot water bottle with a blankie around it. Then, Mark would proceed to "send Baby Digby and me into space" by pushing the table up and down with his feet. It was a bouncy ride into outer space!~ THen bam! Just like Apollo 13, I had to radio to NASA and say "Houston, we have a problem!" Mark had let the table crash back down so hard, the leg broke off. Oops. We put it back "together" and put it in the storage place...hoping Mon would think she broke it the next time she got it out. I am not sure what happened and if we got in trouble.
My thanks to all! I LOVED reading all your comments and stories. It's one of the things I love about 365- different countries, different cultures but so many common threads for all of us!
My thanks to all! I LOVED reading all your comments and stories. It's one of the things I love about 365- different countries, different cultures but so many common threads for all of us!