I mentioned recently that the dinner table is central to our liturgy of marriage – so central, in fact, that it has its own liturgy. Inspired by Kari’s thoughts on the liturgy of parenting.
The Call to the Stove
Hi, love. I’m on my way home.
Great. I’ll start the water boiling, turn on the oven, begin chopping vegetables, and/or assemble the ingredients for a soup, pizza or enchiladas. See you soon.
The Kitchen Dance
Can you hand me that knife? Pass the cutting board.
Is there any more chili powder? We’re out of garlic again.
That looks/smells delicious. Stir the soup, will you? Hand me the spatula.
The Setting of the Table
Do we need forks? Knives? Are there any clean cloth napkins?
There should be. Look in the other drawer.
The Breaking of the Bread
Mmmm. This looks delicious. Lemonade or water?
The Communion
How was your day? Tell me about your clients, your co-workers, your sessions.
I did some writing. Ate lunch in the Public Garden. I’m reading this great book.
The Holy Embrace
Thanks for making dinner. It was delicious.
I’m glad you like it.
I’m glad you made it.
The Clearing
Did you get all the dishes from the table?
I’ll wash, if you dry.
The Amen
Want some ice cream?
Yes. Absolutely.
So much dinner time recognition here! We say, “What do we need, just forks? Knives?” every single day. And also the amen 🙂
Oh man, we are so missing this. This is beautiful.
My kind of amen!
This is lovely! It’s all about the little rituals and dances we do as couples that make our daily life special… And the addition of ice cream always makes life better!
Ordinary, but not less special, moments. Isn’t it great?!
I love this! So sweet.
And I would like some enchiladas, please.
Lemonade for me, please. Lemonade and gratitude for your writing.
[…] there have been far more simple patio dinners that look like […]
[…] are both ways of paying attention to my body and accepting the realities of my schedule. J and I cook dinner together and eat at the table whenever possible, which grounds and relaxes us – but we also know the […]
[…] older I get, the more I am convinced that the sacred is best found in those day-to-day moments, the liturgy of dinnertime, bedtime stories (the last paragraph on this post gets me every time), popsicles in the backyard. […]