Everyone to the Table

That’s what my mother always hollered right before “Dinner is ready.” There was never any discussion, you got to the table; like it or not, and that went for the meal and the conversation.

I received a call from a Cutco Cutlery representative the other day and immediately flashed back to my brother standing in the kitchen wearing suit and bowtie as he set out for his first job. By the end of that summer every mom in town had a new set of steak knives on her table. I couldn’t believe the company still existed (60 year anniversary if you check out the site) so I said “yes” to a demonstration and a potential trip down memory lane.

A few days later, I opened the door to a young man looking like he had just come from surfing. No suit or bowtie, just a laid back expression and a bag of knives over his shoulder. I let go of nostalgia as he laid out his knives at my table and turned on autopilot.

“Do you own a set of knives, Mrs. Wilson?” “Yes, I do.”

“How often do you use them?” “Daily.”

“How often do you sharpen them?” “Rarely,” I said.

“I bet you like to barbecue on a day like today.” “I love to barbecue anyday.”

“What’s your favorite meat?” “I’m a vegetarian.”

He faltered momentarily then plugged a paring knife for my veggies before switching to autopilot again. The demonstration started to feel like the dull knives I apparently had in my drawers; that’s until he cut into something I can get fired up about. 

“How many meals do you prepare in a week?” 

“That’s a good question,” I replied.  “I’d say 14 or so.”

Silence, then “A week?”

“Yes, that’s right, at the table with napkins in lap.”

He stared stunned and I wondered if he was envisioning my entire kitchen being decked out by Cutco, or if he was imagining that many moments at the table with family.

The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California reports the average family spends about 18 hours a month together. From TV to technology, distractions are cutting into dinner and family time. But I’m not ready to scrap mealtime for computer time. I’ll take the occasional arguments and grumblings over the meal, or who got more ketchup. It’s the sharing of daily activities, jokes, and planning of weekend hikes that helps us circle our wagon to keep tabs on each other. It is both grounding and comforting, and expected now by our children even at a young age.

So while my Cutco representative frantically flipped through the pages looking for the bigger knife block to sell me, I sat contentedly knowing I get flustered about a lot of things throughout the day but not getting the meal to the table – even if it means breakfast for dinner.