I was visiting my parents recently and my mom, my grandmom and I gathered in the living room to ceremoniously open the most crucial pieces to my "dining room in the works."

Fresh out of the box, the Marchesa by Lenox Paisley Bloom china looked every bit as beautiful as it did displayed on a table in the department store. Maybe even more beautiful now that it's mine.

Of course my mom went and did it again -- spoiled me with her generosity -- and bought us 16, five-piece place settings. She looks forward to the day I host a holiday gathering and all of our family recipes are served on this dinnerware.

My grandmom wanted to hold the delicate, Paisley Bloom cup. I picked it up from its resting spot on the platinum-rimmed saucer and handed it to her. She said she cannot wait to drink coffee out of it. She just loves her coffee.

I'll admit it is strange, in a way, to get so excited over plates. But then again, it's not. All that happens around a family's dinner table -- gushing over my mom's delish meals, laughing at my uncle's jokes, listening to my Pop Pop's memories, delighting in my godson's beaming smile -- are the moments that connect us for life.

Opening the china I'll have for the rest of my life -- and maybe even pass down to a daughter -- and sharing that moment with the two generations of women before me felt really special. That china is not only a wedding gift, but also it represents future dinners, and memories that have yet to be made.

And when there are memories to be made, and stories to be shared, you might as well be sitting around a good-looking table! With much thanks to my mom, a snazzy table it will be.