I want to sit at the table

These are the words my Monkey said last night and they are just the latest example of how my frustration level with our 800 sf is continuing to grow.

We were coming home from the grocery store and we told him if he was good he would have french fries for dinner. He got all excited and said he wanted to sit at the table. This means, or so we thought, that he wanted to go to McDonalds. We said no, we were eating them at home and he would eat at his seat. His seat is a cushion on the floor with a bed/breakfast tray as his table. Sometimes the tv is on, other times its not.

"But I dont want to sit on the cushion, I want to sit at the table," he said.

We asked if he wanted to sit at the big boy table in our kitchen, the table that was at that moment piled high with newspapers, bills, magazines, diaper bags and who knows what else.

"Yes, please, Mommy. Can I please sit at the big boy table," he asked again.

My heart sank.

How many moms would jump for joy that their 3 year old politely asked to sit at the table? Me, I cringe because in order for him to do this I have to go move everything and sort it and find another home for it (what nook and cranny is not being used now?). I did, of course, move everthing around. And he did enjoy a good dinner there. But it made me sick and sad that we are so cramped for space that I can't even offer my son a place to eat dinner without having to move 1,001 things first.

One day we will have our someday house, and added to the list of things in our someday house, will be a kitchen table that is exclusively a kitchen table and not a desk/catch all.