My motto for 2015 has been settled on.

Sit at the table!

This actually has been a goal of mine for years — yet, I rarely do it.

This next year, I’d like to set the tone and literally, sit at the table.

I’m good with sitting at the table figuratively as well. Finding a chair at the table involves participation for me. I plan on participating in a lot of new activities this coming year, but most of all I want to sit at the table to eat.

Few people know, I eat most meals alone, in my cave. It is a bit embarrassing to admit it, but there you go. I’ll sit at the table when we have company or we are invited out, but at home, I grab a plate and disappear, leaving Ken at the table alone.

This habit goes way back — that’s no excuse. My family had a hard time gathering around food and when we did, nothing good came of it.

I remember one of the first times I sat at a table to eat. I was 18 years old, and at the home of my then boyfriend. He was the seventh child in a family of 14, and at dinner they ALL gathered to eat and talk. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’d had to date. I was shell shocked and in awe.

I think about it each time I slip away with my plate. Yet, I’ve continued to eat alone over the years.

In 2015, in a new house, with a new view, I have a new motto, that I hope will break an old habit.

This motto will remind and encourage me to step up, and participate.

I plan to sit at the table and share meals and conversation in 2015.

I know this sounds weird, but there you go.