Whenever the family would get together, we would gather around the kitchen table - that should be tables - for dinner. We'd slide every available table into the kitchen/dining room/living room of that old Victorian house and share a meal that was as fresh as you could get - vegetables from my grandfather's garden, plus fish, oysters, or crabs caught that morning from the Chesapeake Bay by my uncles, my Dad, and my grandfather.
If there were too many people, which meant more than 18 adults, the kids would be sent to the children's table to eat. My Mom's family was very close, so we'd see cousins from all 4 of her siblings families. If it was just family, we could have 12 adults plus 11 kids. There were always extras because friends and extended family would tag along. It was chaotic and wonderful. Everybody pitched in to cook, clean fish, peel potatoes, shell peas. Clean up was always done by the wives, and the men would go out to do something in the yard or clean up the fishing tackle from the morning's catch. It was a good life.
Those days are long gone, and the house has been sold. But somewhere, that tradition is being carried on by another generation, another family, who will leave lasting impressions of love and warmth for the next generation. We should never underestimate the power of family and simple pleasures.
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