What We Have is Enough

By Elisabeth Fondell

I often find that it’s the everyday occurrences that speak the strongest. The way peaches gifted from a neighbor sit on a plate, ripe and ready to be eaten, their sweet scent caught occasionally in passing. The stillness of the porch on a summer morning as the sun filters through leaves in the cool August air. Meals shared around familiar tables. Tables spread with richly-garnished food served on handmade pottery in the light of morning.

It is around these tables that I find myself filled with gratitude. The tables of the rural Midwest are plentiful. They are filled with holiday smorgasbords and refrigerator-foraged picnics and locally-grown foods, but most importantly, they are filled with people. Our towns and country farmhouses, far from fancy grocery stores or exotic restaurants, create vibrant opportunities for meals shared around tables in our homes and on our porches. Many of the most meaningful discussions I’ve had were around tables, sharing opinions and stories over communal dining.

In the coming season, let’s set our tables and dig in. Dig in to potential conversations with those around us. Dig in to the challenge of cooking, the joy of entertaining, the comfort of dear friends, the newness of strangers, and the opportunities we have in our communities. And may we find a way to shape our lives around a shared appreciation for the everyday occurrences that cause us to pause, that ground us, that bring us peace, and that fill us with gratitude.