Why the name, Marina's Kitchen Table?

Why the name, Marina's Kitchen Table?
- Marina Bromley

Ever since I was a little girl, the kitchen table, of ANY home, represented the heartbeat of the home and family. I remember the gray and white formica table set that was in my home growing up, how my mom would sit there with her cigarettes and coffee every morning (and was sometimes still there when I came home from school!), and my older sisters "cool" autumn harvest set in her home around the corner from mine. I remember the long picnic style table that our neighbors had, large enough to seat their very large family.

I recall eating at the counter or in front of the tv after my mother passed away... the table just seemed too big. There were places at other tables from my dad's other wives, but none of them seemed to fit me as well... all pressed oak and over-sized... it wasn't the same.

I remember my favorite tables; my Auntie June's at Easter was equipped with at least 3 tables and a counter, and there was so much laughter and love going around that I don't think anyone cared where we sat, we were there together and that was what mattered.

Of course, I remember my own kitchen tables, usually simple, sometimes mismatched, always room for one more. There were hand-me-downs, and home-made ones too, but it didn't matter, we made memories there. We shared meals, discussions, games, and prayer, and often they were covered with homeschool papers or computers. That's where the name came from originally... as I sat at our hand-me-down computer typing out journal entries on a Yahoo Group site back in the 90's, and eventually it became this... my little blog.

I never envisioned it to be a grand thing, this blog. I've ventured a little from it over the years, at times I was writing for print publications (see the entries under "Auntie Em Writes") and my online writing seemed to take a back seat. Other times, busy with managing other people's blogs, I couldn't find my own voice at all, and that's ok. I would rather be sure I was writing from my heart than piggy-backing off of someone else's voice. There were times I vented at the horrid stuff going on around me (there's been lots of family drama over the years) and sometimes I've been too broken to put things into words at all. There was one year I ventured off of this platform and jumped in over at Wordpress, paying for a space to put my name and a dot com to sustain my words and pictures. At the end of the year, it wasn't me, and God was moving me along back to my space here. It was a time consuming and costly lesson, but I'm genuinely happy to be here at this little Kitchen Table site, with it's pre-formatted blog pages and all my history. I'm ok with that. :)

As we ended my year of no internet (because we lived in a house with dial-up speed) I've dreamed about this space, and prayed about what my table looks like in these empty nesting years. Where do I go from here? What do I share? What's God's purpose in all of this?

I have been out of habit of using my computer (GASP) and have done more on my phone this past year. My photos have been taken on my phone and posted to Facebook (and now Instagram too!) because Google apps and iPhones don't always play nicely together, and a blog is one of those places the limitations are apparent.

But tonight, my phone is to the side, and I'm back at the Kitchen Table (not in my office!) and I'm typing away in the middle of the night. It wasn't my intention. I had intended on working on the blog for one of my clients (Meeting in the Meadow, by Roy Lessin) and eating double-stuff knock off Oreos with a cup of milk to put me to sleep. I'm almost there. In my sleep deprived state of mind, I'm rambling on about why the name of Marina's Kitchen Table, and I feel like this next season in this new home, in a new neighborhood is coming together. The Table will stay the center of my home, whether I've got 7 grandkids surrounding it, or Mark and I are quietly playing backgammon over dinner. I hope that as I get to know my neighbors (and as more of them move into the neighborhood) that I'll find women at this table, sharing recipes and prayers, playing games and discussing books, encouraging each other and feeding hearts and souls. I want to hear laughter here, and I want to share scripture. I hope to see art take place and messes mopped up. I can imagine more cookies being dunked, and cookies being decorated.

And STORIES! I want to hear the HIStory of how God has been at work in people's lives!

So that's why it's "Marina's Kitchen Table," for so long. It may change again down the road. I will likely not get it right, and will post too many photos and not enough words, or the other way around. I might forget to share recipes and art projects, I might take another month off and just get into the old fashioned ways of writing with pen and paper, but for tonight, I'm here at the Table for you...

How may I pray for you?

-Marina
#marinaskitchentable #marinabromley