Every Monday night is “Family Dinner Night” with my best friend, her husband, and her three kids. We tripped into this tradition. Between the two of us - we cannot remember how long we’ve been doing it - we just agree that it is a Tradition with a capital “T.”

Family Dinner Night has a predictable rhythm: a “tocktail board” (cocktails and a cheese board as defined by tiny people), dinner, bath, books, prayers, and songs.

After reading books, I head downstairs to tidy up. I pick up all the toys and put them on the giant leather, tufted ottoman, and fluff the couch throw pillows. Putting toys on the ottoman gives the toys a new home until they are put away.

The ottoman has no rhyme or reason. The toys embody everything that happened during the day. They tell their own story of coloring books, princess costumes, and blocks.

I am a restless entrepreneur.

Always have been. I love creating beautiful spaces, solving problems, and making complicated topics easier to understand. It’s my superpower.

So, the ottoman represents all the best parts of what’s at play in my life - without limits.

I enjoy the whole ottoman. And all the “toys” that can fit on it.

-Anna Beavon Gravely