dinner

My brother, Steve, got married this summer to Stacie. I now affectionately refer to them as Stevcie. She is a dream come true both for him and for me. She is my fourth fabulous sister-in-law in four years. When my cousins and I stalked her on My Space, she sounded perfect for Steve. We strongly encouraged him to call her. When they started dating and he said to me, “You should be friends with her on face book,“ I knew it was serious. And when I read her blog, I knew I would love her. She’s very easy to love.

We flew to Alabama for the wedding. We glued a few programs together (which magically doubled as fans) and a Lucas lost a layer of skin to a glue gun. We made a pretty cool collage of Steve and Stacie over the years, and I helped mom set up for the rehearsal dinner. I got to put the place cards on the tables and help figure out where everyone was going to sit. I don’t know why, but I absolutely love doing this. I love place cards and placing people around a table together. It feels important to me to get it right. I want everyone to have fun and feel comfortable. I want everyone to have someone they will enjoy talking to by their side. This isn’t always possible, but it’s fun to try.

Maybe that is why I fantasize about being at dinner with people in heaven. I literally think of who I’d like to have at my table. Round tables with 8 people work pretty well. It is big enough to have a good group and small enough that you can hear everyone and have one conversation if you are so inclined. My family is never so inclined. We talk over each other, across the table, across the room, to anyone who will listen, and when no one is listening at all. But that's another story.

So if you could fill your own table of eight in heaven who would you include? You will be having eternal dinners, so the options are endless. Of course, I want my friends and family at the table sometimes, but that’s not very interesting to think about. I can do that now.

Here is my list:

1. Anne Lamott
2. Desmond Tutu
3. Brennan Manning
4. Mother Teresa
5. Jill Conner Browne
6. Chris Rock
7. Corrie Ten Boom
8. Me

Wouldn’t that be fun? Or. . .

1. Helen Keller
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Sue Monk Kidd
4. Harper Lee
5. Bear Bryant
6. Eric Liddell
7. Ellen Degeneres
8. Me

I could go on and on.