As I passed my cluttered dining room today, it suddenly hit me that the dining table is a representation of my brain. We’re all wired differently and apparently I’m wired in a very haphazard way with multiple things going on at the same time.
I mean, doesn’t everyone have a 25 pound box of apples, enough candy bars to feed 100 hungry trick-or-treaters, a bowl of glittered acorns, a graphic novel version of the Bible, a bag of sour gummi worms, Christmas bottle-brush trees and a rubber lobster on their table? Because I do.
Obviously, my table is saying that my brain is cluttered and has an attention and focusing problem! But, somehow having an assortment of oddities on my table is completely normal for me. I’m attracted to the unusual things in life and I’m constantly picking up things that make me smile and “displaying” them on my table.
Once I started thinking about it, I realized that my friends all have tables that represent their brains too.
I have friends who can’t stand a messy table and keep theirs polished and empty. They’d be the first to admit that they’re a little OCD and need cleanliness to feel some peace.
I have friends whose tables are overrun with piles of paper. Their brains are easily overwhelmed and tend to stop functioning when they’re faced with too many things to process.
I have friends who keep Legos and art supplies on their tables at all times. They are creative and love to bring out creativity in others.
I even have a friend who keeps her table set for meals because she isn’t wired to deal with stress very well and needs to simplify dinnertime.
Who would think that a piece of furniture could say so much about a person? The next time you visit friends, take a peek at their tables and see what you can learn about their inner workings. Or, really look at your own table and see if it matches who you are.
And, while I do dream about having a clean, shiny table with a bouquet of flowers set in the center, I know I could never keep it that way. My wild, cluttered mind would invariably take over and who knows what crazy stuff would end up on there before long. For now, it happens to be sparkly acorns, a few bottle brush Christmas trees and a lobster. And, I’m learning that that’s perfectly okay.
Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
