The Placemat

Setting the dining table

With Each evening meal

For those who are able

And those yet to reveal

In through the front door

Before voicemail or text

Wandering of neighbors

Weary travelers without nest

Setting the table decor

Laying out a placemat

For the surprise; one more

Pair of shoes left on doormat

In through the front door

Arrives the visitor—alight

An expected~unexpected

To join our table tonite

Setting the table often

Always with more room here

A sacred space held open

For a guest to appear

Coming In through the front door

May our house be a refuge, retreat

The placemat a ritual reminder

Of the permanent welcome mat—

In our hearts to greet

**inspired by my grandmother’s, grandfather Milton Bradley (inventor of the Game of Life) and his wife Nellie’s meaningful practice—

Who lived in the 1800s before cel phones, voicemail or text, always set an extra place at the dining table each night for the expected~unexpected guests who might join them for dinner. always generous, always welcome, always game for new lively and insightful conversations, they lived with doors and hearts wide open—for creativity and intimacy was their way of winning at the game of life