My Place at the Table

Growing up in a large family, there are certain things that keep the chaos to a minimum. One of them is assigned seats at the dinner table. I have no memory of how or why these seats were assigned, but as with everything my mother did, I'm sure it was purposeful.

My earliest memory of my first assigned spot was being in the high chair. Being the youngest of seven, I was the last to sit in that position of honor. I was to the right of my mother. But it's not my mother I remember sitting next to me. (Sorry mom, but let's face it, did the woman ever sit for more than 30 seconds at a meal before popping up to get something for someone?)

Nope, it was the guy to the right of me who is intermingled in my earliest dinner table memories. He was the one who made me laugh with his goofy faces, passed me the spaghetti, and was just generally my dinner table buddy.

Now at some point we all have to leave the high chair. I'm not sure at what age that was, but when I was moved, it was diagonally away from my pal. But again it was intentional and important. My brother and I share a special designation in our family. We two, number 3 and number 7, respectively, share the special (we thought it was special) gift of being the only two left-handers among the kids. The best part of it though, was that we shared this trait with my dad, who was the head south-paw. 

Anyone who's ever sat next to a leftie at the dinner table knows it's not fun. So it turns out that three lefties were the perfect number at our table. One at each opposite end, and my dad at the head. (Until Larry joined the family, and screwed it all up).

I like to think that being in our right brains, along with a shared love of books, chess and the fact that I could always use his baseball glove, always bonded the two of us in a special way. So today, on the 60th birthday of my brother John, who is one of the most intelligent, witty, kind (and far left) humans I know, I am grateful. So grateful to him for sharing his jokes, his spaghetti casserole, and his chess tips with me for all of these years. 

Happy Birthday John Kevin! I love you!