PRACTICE hospitality
Well, here’s a little known secret. I tend to freak out before I have guests over. I attempt to clean the house and remove clutter with a good ‘editing eye’ in the hours or day prior to someone coming over. It has been a source of anxiety for me in the past. And my husband Brent has thought I’ve been a bit of a crack up. I’m sure a lot of people are like me. However I think I’ve come to the conclusion that all the fussing and worrying isn’t so necessary. When the friends or family actually do show up, I have a good old time. I forget about my house and have fun with my guests. I’m glad I’m able to do that. Brent and I have had lots of people tell us they enjoy our food (we can sure throw down together in the kitchen!), and that they find this a peaceful, and joyful home. So why do I still freak out?
I worry about the dog pee on the floor. We haven’t had a dog in almost two years here in our home. But our previous dog Max would pee all over the place. (Come to find out he had a pretty bad bladder issue that needed fixing…) So I have continuously shampooed our carpets in the 6 years we’ve lived here. But I can still tell that there is pee damage. Gross. I hate it! And when our baby came along, I freaked out about the carpets. (And who has $2K+ to get new carpets now days?) So, I still am embarrassed about the carpet. But not only does it have old pee, but it also has a 2 year old’s tornado’s-worth of raisins, crackers, etc, etc. But our guests continue to come over & enjoy themselves. So, I’m trying to relax about the flooring. (But it’s tough!)
Another thing I have worried about in the past… the drainage. I’m not talking about plumbing. I’m talking about getting physically and emotionally tired. You see, I’m one of those people that gets really, really exhausted being around lots of people all the time. I didn’t grow up in a big family so maybe that has something to do with it. I really get my R & R by being by myself a little bit.. taking a walk or reading a good book really helps me revive. But there is something about actively participating with your community that really changes people (and me!) for the better. Some people feed off of being around people 24/7. They really get recharged by it. (I think I’m married to one of those types of people!) So another source of anxiety about the looming guest visits was knowing that I’d be on the spot, having to entertain and talking for several hours. Pillow please.
Last week there was a renewal in my commitment to do a little more practicing ‘hospitality.’ I’m pretty sure we had a new person over every day/evening. It was a little tiring, but man was it awesome. I kinda said in my heart to God, that whomever comes across our path this week that we’d invite them over (in some cases they’d invited themselves over!). It was great because of those awesome people and also because I didn’t get freaky beforehand.
I know lots of people who can handle a constant stream of visitors coming over to their home at all hours of the day and night. I don’t think I can hang with that. But I do feel more comfortable than ever before with enjoying others here. Heck, that’s what our house is for anyway, right?? (Other than it being a place to sleep & eat & build up our family…)
How are you practicing hospitality, hmm?
