meal times

Meals were an important time in the Alvira family, for more reasons than the obvious ones. Something as simple as the seating at the table had its meaning. Marian writes, “I remember our family dinners as something invaluable. There were never any fixed places at the table, or special chairs for Papa and Mama. I remember putting up a fight because I preferred a certain place and someone else had beaten me to it. But we knew very well that there were no fixed places, everyone sat where they wanted. That, too, has given me throughout my life a very great sense of freedom—and I see it as one more little very instructive thing. You don’t own anything, not even a place . . . but at the same time, all of the places are yours.”