Table Topics

Amongst my friends, I'm known for my table topics. What is a table topic you ask? Well, when a group of folks are sitting around a table, usually over a meal, and there is no interaction, I bust out with a table topic. An area of discussion that will surely ignite the quietest of folks to open up and share. I love table topics! My friend, Amy, says she despises small talk, and I second her on that one. I can talk about the weather and the latest TV show with a stranger on the elevator. If I'm breaking bread with you, I'd hope we'd have some stimulating conversation.

So, I'm begining what I hope to be the first of many virtual table topics. I'll throw out a question and/or topic and allow the audience to discuss. I'll throw out my two cents (or $5) worth to get the ball rolling. In the offline game of table topics, I never throw out a topic I can't start. Just to spice it up a bit, I'll tag some fellow bloggers in hopes to get the virtual world engaged and get some shameless links back to my blog. The first question is....

If you could relive a time or event in your life, what would you choose?

Here are my top five in no particular order...

1. Play in my childhood backyard on my swingset. I LOVED my swingset. As an only child, I had to amuse myself. My swing was equipped with a teeter totter, four-seater swing (no only child jokes here), slide, and two individual swings. I loved to swing so high it would tump the set out of the ground. When the paint began to wear thin, my Dad repainted it a candy cane red and white. He spray painted the whole thing white, then taped it off and sprayed red paint on top to give it the candy cane look. It was the coolest thing. My Dad is and will always be the coolest.

2. Spend the day with my Mom doing anything. I loved spending time with Mom, no matter what the venue. We could spend days driving all over town - taking the long way home - or I could enjoy a day full of making crafts with her. Or even sitting in the backyard shucking corn or breaking beans and her saying "Your Father forgets how much trouble fresh vegetables are sometimes." Or playing a game of Scrabble, or working the daily crossword puzzle. Anything. It always was the best of times and at some point my Mom would speak her mind pretty forthrightly or laugh until we all had to take a potty break.

3. Write letters to my Aunt Stella. She was my Dad's oldest sister and lived in Michigan. We were pen pals. I never knew my Grandma Booth, so Aunt Stella sort of served as Aunt and pseudo Grandma. I would visit her every summer and she'd take me to many cultural things in the area and always had our week planned out. All year long we'd write letters back and forth of what we were doing and how our weeks had been. This was long before e-mail, so we actually pulled out pen and paper and used stamps (gasp!) to communicate. She was a sharp businesswoman and very well traveled. I'd love to write her about a 1000 page letter today and get her advice on many, many things.

4. Spend the day with my Aunt Linda. She was actually my Great Aunt, but who's counting? She lived in Bullitt County on a farm and when I was young that seemed like a very long trek. In the summer, Mom and I would drive out to spend the day with her and my Aunt Mimi (Aunt Linda's sister). We'd spend the day doing various things....visiting her neighbors, picking blackberries, making jam, quilting, crocheting, listening to stories. I don't know who loved going out there more, me or Mom. We'd always have a 2pm lunch/supper that was a spread. And it always included Aunt Mimi's yummy potato salad.

5. Spend the day with my Granny. The only grandmother I knew was my Mom's Mom. She was the epitome of independence. She never learned to drive, but knew how to get anywhere on TARC. I loved her cute little house. Just big enough for her, but large on love. I loved to go over there on Sundays after church and play in her backyard, or just rock on her little front porch. Or go over there anytime and watch her sew (she was a seamtress by trade) or cook. Mmm, to have her fried chicken and battercakes again. (Battercakes = Cornbread cakes) And, her iced tea was the best in the land. My first manicure was given to me by my Granny who said, "Let's just put on real light pink polish and your Dad will never notice."

Now it's your turn...discuss. And, I'll tag Katrina, Alisa, and Amy. Even if you aren't tagged, feel free to post on your own blog or the comment section here.