ladies of the round table.

i love kitchens. and kitchen tables. and warmth. and chatter. and all the socializing associated with the aforementioned.

no matter what the occasion is, people tend to flock to the kitchen. parties, holidays, dinners, etc. etc. etc. people want to be in the kitchen.

the kitchen/the art of cooking is essentially centered around trying to make people warm, comfortable & happy. it therefore makes sense that people ARE content while in that atmosphere.

during the holidays, the women of my family (a little sexist i know. women's studies minor will ignore that fact) flock to the kitchen to make whatever giant meal it is is that we're about to eat. and that's when the real laughter/story telling time takes place. the wine starts flowing & the story telling increases at the same rate.

the large majority of my in-depth roommate talks occur around our old, wooden, circular table. coffee is drank. boys are discussed. life is analyzed. it's an open, happy place.

i came home tonight still reeling from an awful day full of finals. i poured myself a glass of wine, pulled up a chair at my favorite table & started making paper snowflakes with my some of my favorite people. life started improving exponentially.

in wisconsin a few weeks ago, claire, some girls i had just met and i woke up from a late night out. and right away, everyone congregated in the kitchen, put a large pot of coffee on and proceeded to sit there for the next two and a half hours. conversation ranged from nudity to religion to harry potter to philosophy and by the end of it, i felt like i was legitimately friends with everyone there.

i like round tables. where everyone is equally visible. king arthur may have known what he was doing.

i don't think i managed to sum up the feeling of love i felt tonight. but i like kitchens.