The mark of a gracious foyer in a lovely suburban home is a grand light fixture, striking artwork, and gracious seating in the form of entryway benches. But elegant homes are the not the only places where you will find entryway benches. Consider these locations:
• The front of a discount department store. It's frequently the meeting place for families who get separated during their shopping excursion, a resting spot for Grandma, and a place to rest your packages while you're waiting for the rest of your party to check out.
• My favorite Italian restaurant. The dreaded line of entryway benches fills up quickly on Friday nights in the waiting area of. If the benches are full, we know we'll be hungry for a while.
• The lonely spot inside the entrance of women's clothing stores. While I never made a practice of bringing my guy shopping with me, my brother has been stuck on these entryway benches on a number of occasions. Those guys look lonely, they look worried, and they look bored. I would not assign that unfortunate space to anyone I care about.
• The park-style benches where the high-school students congregate in the interior courtyard before school begins. These entryway benches have been the place where last-minute studying leads to a "B" becoming an "A," first romances have begun, and the celebrations of Who Got Into Which Colleges start.
• The waiting area inside the airport terminal. People used to wait for happy reunions at the arrival gate. Now, groups congregate on the entryway benches in the communal waiting area, anticipating the arrival of friends and family.
• The rear of our churches. Churches may be the only buildings where we enter at the front, but which is really the back. The rear of our churches are lined with entryway benches, where we wait at the end of services so we can head to Sunday dinner, congratulate a happy bride and groom, and take a break while we are managing the weekly raffle.
• The entrance of amusement parks. Families enter the parks in anticipation of an exhilarating day, but with the understanding that if they separate, they are to meet at the appointed time at the designated entryway benches. It rarely works out that way, but at least a plan is in place.
• The shopping mall. The entryway benches that line the main thoroughfare into the shopping mall are the place where we meet our shopping buddies, rest our weary feet, compare bargains, and give impromptu fashion shows. Parents scold children for making them wait, and kids complain that they are being forced to leave too soon.
• The county courthouse. Take a seat on the entryway benches inside the courthouse, and you'll see harried office workers rushing in to pay traffic tickets on their lunch hours, glowing brides and grooms waiting to pick up their marriage licenses, and extended families celebrating the adoption of a baby. While it's expected to see people with a nervous story to tell at the courthouse, if look a little closer, and you'll see some happy tales to tell.
• The lobby of the movie theatre. Teenagers sit on the entryway benches, nervously waiting for the start of a "real" date, grandparents try keep excited kindergarteners in check while waiting for the next big animated feature to begin, and crowds file by to join the line for the next showing of the holiday blockbuster.
Our homes and families have been well-served by entryway benches in different sizes and styles. It looks like the rest of the world caught on to the idea, too.
