Growing Up, Looking Back

By Melanie Grace

We’ve all been there. Literally.

The kids table. That smaller table off to the side where the “real” conversations weren’t happening. Where the plastic plates lived. Where you were definitely not getting any wine.

“When I Sat at the Kids Table” is pure nostalgia wrapped in a smile.

It’s about that perspective shift that happens when you finally graduate to the adult table and suddenly you’re looking back at where you came from. And weirdly? You miss it. The simplicity. The silliness. The way everything felt less complicated when your biggest concern was whether you’d get the last dinner roll.

I wanted this song to have an uplifting energy—not sad nostalgia, but the warm, fuzzy kind. The kind that makes you grateful you experienced those moments, even if you can’t get them back exactly as they were.

There’s something bittersweet and beautiful about growing up. About realizing you’re now the one making the mashed potatoes instead of sneaking extra marshmallows off the sweet potato casserole. About sitting at the table where people are talking about mortgages and health insurance instead of arguing about who gets to be player one.

But here’s the thing: we carry the kids table with us. Those memories, that lightness, that version of ourselves that just wanted to have fun and be included—it’s still there. “When I Sat at the Kids Table” is a reminder to keep that part alive, even as we navigate adult Thanksgivings.

So whether you’re still at the kids table (no judgment), just graduated (congrats!), or looking back from years away (hello, fellow adults), this song is for you.

Because we were all kids once. And Thanksgiving remembers.

“When I Sat at the Kids Table” is track 4 on My Thanksgiving, dropping November 21st.