Stammtisch
"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." ~Lin Yutang
When you walk into most German restaurants you will be greeted by a table near the front that has a sign on it, "Stammtisch". This is loosely translated into "regular's table" and is the one place where only the regulars sit. If you have the luck of entering the restaurant while the "Regular's" are there, you will be greeted by a glance, maybe a nod, sometimes a Hallo, but always the sound of friends sitting together and sharing their day.
I loved to marvel as the Stammtisch filled with regulars pouring in after work. The friends would embrace, there was a comraderie there that was beautiful and the conversation was so animated. I always wanted to be part of the Stammtisch.
Part of being a military family means that you are always saying goodbye to something. Your friends are moving, or you are moving, or the unit is moving or the civilians are moving. Your children's friends move, your neighbors move. The regulars are always changing. The good thing about military families is that we learn how to reset quickly, because time with friends is normally short.
The time for my family has come when the moving is done. We have decided on this place to build the next stage of our lives. We have found our town.
Our town means that we have our favorite restaurants and know the names of the waitstaff. Our town means that we are watching as families are made, marriages are started, babies are growing up. Our town means we know when football season starts and ends, we know the team colors, we look forward to the next crop of players. Our town means you can't run into the store without seeing someone you know. Our town means that opening day of baseball season is not just the thrill of entering the ballpark after a long off season, it is seeing those you sit beside, knowing the sound of your favorite beverage guy, meeting his girlfriend, looking forward to seeing your sections ticket attendant and sitting in your seats. It is the familiarity of being in a place you have come to know as home, just like laying your head on your favorite pillow and basking in the normalness of what right feels like.
I am finally part of the Stammtisch and it feels better than I ever imagined it would.
Just like coming home.
When you walk into most German restaurants you will be greeted by a table near the front that has a sign on it, "Stammtisch". This is loosely translated into "regular's table" and is the one place where only the regulars sit. If you have the luck of entering the restaurant while the "Regular's" are there, you will be greeted by a glance, maybe a nod, sometimes a Hallo, but always the sound of friends sitting together and sharing their day.
I loved to marvel as the Stammtisch filled with regulars pouring in after work. The friends would embrace, there was a comraderie there that was beautiful and the conversation was so animated. I always wanted to be part of the Stammtisch.
Part of being a military family means that you are always saying goodbye to something. Your friends are moving, or you are moving, or the unit is moving or the civilians are moving. Your children's friends move, your neighbors move. The regulars are always changing. The good thing about military families is that we learn how to reset quickly, because time with friends is normally short.
The time for my family has come when the moving is done. We have decided on this place to build the next stage of our lives. We have found our town.
Our town means that we have our favorite restaurants and know the names of the waitstaff. Our town means that we are watching as families are made, marriages are started, babies are growing up. Our town means we know when football season starts and ends, we know the team colors, we look forward to the next crop of players. Our town means you can't run into the store without seeing someone you know. Our town means that opening day of baseball season is not just the thrill of entering the ballpark after a long off season, it is seeing those you sit beside, knowing the sound of your favorite beverage guy, meeting his girlfriend, looking forward to seeing your sections ticket attendant and sitting in your seats. It is the familiarity of being in a place you have come to know as home, just like laying your head on your favorite pillow and basking in the normalness of what right feels like.
I am finally part of the Stammtisch and it feels better than I ever imagined it would.
Just like coming home.
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