Family's Annual Tradition of Eating at IHOP

Pearl Watkins raised ten children as a single parent in the small town of Maddox, Louisiana in the 1950s. The children were like stairsteps because they were born one or two years apart. Of the ten children, there were eight girls and two boys. Pearl wanted a boy so she kept having babies until the ninth child was a boy. She loved Bernard so much that she has another boy that she named Grayson. Bernard and Grayson seemed to get all the attention, but the girls didn't mind because there were eight of them. They played together, wore each other's clothes, and even bickered among themselves.

Some of the Watkins kids enjoyed going to school, but the older kids had to miss days to work in the cotton fields for farmers in the area. It was a way to make money to help their mother pay for groceries and other necessities. Besides, they had to buy their own school books. If enough money was left over, they would buy a pair of new shoes for the school year.

The children insisted they were going to leave Maddox and the cotton fields behind as soon as they graduated from high school. So one by one the siblings began to find work in Richland, Tennessee, a town a little bigger than Maddox.

Leaving Home

One by one, the children left home and found work as a baby sitter or housekeeper in Richland. Katherine left first and was able to live with a distant relative until she was able to rent a small apartment of her own.

Marian was glad when Katherine got an apartment so she could leave home and live with her. Even though the apartment was small, Maggie moved in with her two older sisters after she graduated from high school. All the girls had good work ethics. Therefore, they had live-in jobs during the week, and they went back to the small apartment on the weekend. The space was cramped, but the girls rationalized that it was just for a couple of nights.

Beverly was the next one to leave home. She and Francis ended up in that small apartment. Gloria was the next to leave. Lillian followed her, and Esther was the last girl to leave. So, all eight girls were together while Bernard and Grayson were home with their mother.

After the two boys graduated from high school, Pearl decided she and the boys would move to Richland to join the rest of the family. Therefore, they were forced to get a bigger place so they could all be under the same roof again.

First Time Eating Out

While living in Maddox, the low-income family couldn't afford to do things that other families took for granted. They never went to the movies, to the bowling alley, to any sporting event and surely they couldn't afford to eat out.

The first time they had the opportunity to eat out, they decided to go to the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), a 24/7 diner where the food was reasonably priced, and they could order breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Even though all the siblings had low paying jobs, they all pitched in and saved their money. They decided when they had enough, they would all eat out together for the very first time.

They planned to go out to celebrate Pearl's 75th birthday, but the unthinkable happened. Pearl, who had been hiding her symptoms, collapsed and died of a heart attack. The children were devastated. Instead of wearing their outfits to dinner, they wore them to their mother's funeral.

Table for Ten

The ten children became even closer after their mother died. The next year, Katherine suggested that the children go out to eat together to honor their mother since they didn't go the previous year. After getting dressed, the eight Watkins girls and the two Watkins boys went to IHOP, the 24/7 diner that was within walking distance from their apartment. When the crowd arrived, the waitress asked, "How many?" Katherine said, "Table for ten."

As the siblings sat at the long table, they ordered whatever food they wanted and reminisced about their dearly departed mother. Each child shared their favorite memory of her. The children laughed together, and they cried together. However, they were pleased to do what had been postponed for a whole year. They all said they would do that again next year.

Table for Nine

When the Watkins children arrived at IHOP a yearly later, the waitress remembered them and asked, "Table for ten?" Bernard had died of heart failure like Pearl during the year. Therefore, his younger brother Grayson said, "No, table for nine."

Table for Eight

The siblings kept up the tradition the next year. When the waitress asked, "Table for nine?" it was Lillian who spoke up and said, "No, table for eight." That's because Grayson had drowned while he was fishing in a creek with his friends. After talking about memories of Bernard and Grayson, the eight girls enjoyed their favorite foods at IHOP.

Table for Seven

Believe it or not, even though the eight women had aged, the same waitress was there and recognized them. She knew the drill and didn't ask. This time she merely said, "I'll prepare a table for seven." It was the right number because Marian had died from an autoimmune disease since their last visit.

Table for Six

A lot of things happened during the next year, and the sisters thought about not going to IHOP. Beverly spoke up and said, "Why not? Let's go even though there will be only six of us?" That was the plan, but Beverly was absent because she had been hit by a car a couple of days prior to the outing at IHOP. The rest of the family decided to go because that is what Beverly had suggested before she died.

Table for Five

The next year, the waitress did not have to arrange a long table. The large group had dwindled down, and they needed only a table for five. Maggie had died from cancer three weeks prior to the annual outing.

Table for Four

The group decreased every year, but the siblings kept the tradition going because it was therapeutic for those left behind. Esther was missing from the table but not from the hearts of those who loved her. She had been away on vacation when her plane crashed, and she died.

Table for Three

Francis, Lillian, Gloria, and Katherine had planned to carry on the tradition the next year. Unfortunately, Francis was mugged when she was mistaken to be someone else. She did not survive the attack. Therefore, the waitress at IHOP prepared a table for only three.

Table for Two

Over the years, there seemed to have been a pattern. Therefore, Lillian, Gloria, and Katherine were hesitant to go. However, Katherine said if they didn't go, it would haunt them all year. One week before the annual celebration, Lillian fell downstairs and broke her neck. The waitress couldn't believe the family had been going to IHOP all those years, and each year the group was smaller. She didn't even have to ask. She could see that it would be a table for two.

Table for One

The tradition had gone on for many years. It started out with a table for ten. Now it was down to a table for one. Gloria had died in an automobile accident, and Katherine was the only sibling left. Even though she was old, gray, and feebly, she used her cane and hobbled into the restaurant alone. The waitress did a double-take. Then she and Katherine said at the same time, "Table for one."