Monday, April 18, 2022

Come On Over

Good Monday morning. I hope you all had a joyous Easter Day. Ours was lovely with beautiful weather, a really great church service, and a delicious meal shared with several couples from our church who also happen to live in the neighborhood. 

Hubs came home and washed my car. I came home, put on my yoga pants, and took a quick nap. 
Hey, we all have our superpowers. 

Continuing now with this month's A-Z Blog Challenge...

Day 15-O is for Out Of Town Visitors 

I know not everyone feels the same, but we love company. When you move around a lot you end up with friends in every corner of the world, and connecting when they pass through town for a night, a weekend, or a few days mid-week is something we welcome and enjoy. 

That being said unless you're related to me, a few days is good. Ha! We have the room so physical space isn't an issue, its more the mental space for me. I like activity and then I like quiet. I love seeing friends pull down the drive and I love waving goodbye when it's time to go. 

We've had a lot of company in this house. Our many visitors have been great, turning up with wine and treats and sometimes even their own bath towels (less laundry for me) and rolls of Bounty since paper towels are something we seem to run through when company comes to town.  

One thing I've learned is I'm far more anxious about the menu, the plans, and the accommodations than my guests are. I want everything just so and they want to go for a boat ride, sit on the porch with a glass of wine, and catch up. I try to remember this and not overly stress about something that in the end isn't important. I love make ahead dishes that allow me to hang with my guests rather than spending a lot of time in the kitchen while they're here. 

People almost always offer to bring something and rather than saying no thanks, I've learned to say sure...bring boat snacks or a fruit salad or bagels for breakfast. People want to contribute and I need to let them. We love our charcuterie boards and if I'm having a big group here I tell everyone I'll do meats and crackers and they can all bring a favorite cheese or 'relish item' to add to the tray. This has worked really well. 

While we do have room for a large crew here we, more often than not, have a larger than large crew come to stay. This year we added a Murphy bed to my office, designed, built, and installed by our cabinet makers. We couldn't be happier with the end result. 

It hides a queen-sized mattress and the design makes it feel like the bed has always been a part of the room. 

I still need a chair and a small table for the sitting area, and we still need to hang some art, but this bed has been slept in more than once since the install and it's not even summer yet, so a good investment. While the room may not be 100% done, people are sleeping in there because they don't care that I haven't hung the pictures or landed on just the right piece of furniture to add between the chairs. They just want to come hang out and we want them to come hang out. 

In this age of social media we can start to feel like our homes need to be picture perfect and our guest accommodations over the top luxurious before we invite friends to stay. But once upon a time people would come to your house and kids would give up their beds and enthusiastically move to a pallet on the floor or a blanket on the couch to make room. More chairs were squeezed around an already crowded table, hamburgers were cooked on the grill, and the bathroom was shared with whoever lived in the house.

We're all a bit spoiled in this new century. We need hotel quality pillows and a private bath and soy milk- no gluten options wherever we go, and honestly that can be a little bit intimidating to a host. 

Host anyway. 

Welcome people into your home and your life and your heart. Make memories. Build relationships over cups of tea and a lazy afternoon spent floating on the water. It might not solve all the problems of this world, but it definitely solves a few.  

Lake life is meant to be low key and casual. If you need a special pillow or a certain kind of bread bring it with you. Come enjoy the spectacular view, the serenity of nature, the quirkiness of a small rural town, and most of all your people. Come and enjoy your people and the gifts of time and togetherness. 

The door is open and the kettle is on. 

7 comments:

  1. I'm with you all the way on this Joyce. I've got better at suggesting what people can bring and also accepting offers of help. Especially with food prep and my line when asked how I want something done is "you're preparing it, do it how you would normally do it". It might not turn out how I would have done it but I've come to learn it's better to accept help graciously than micromanage everything. Especially as guests are nearly always friends and family who, if they can't take us how they find us, need to find themselves a different hotel lol

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  2. What a lovely post and all is so true. We, too, have plenty of room for guests and welcome them as well. We are "home" for Hubby's two sisters and my two brothers and between them and our daughter's family, our private guest suite was money well spent. It houses a king bed and 2 twins beds, perfect for her family. I always try to cook ahead and that works really well with adult company. But, when the 3 grandsons are here there is a whole lot of running in and out and I'm often so distracted that I don't function quite as well as I should. :o)) Have a great week!

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  3. I love this post. It sounds like it would be really fun staying at your place. I'm not much of a host, but I believe it is something I probably need to work on as I do think it's important.

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  4. Yes. I used to worry about company and doing it all just right but my family and friends just don't care. They don't expect anything but sharing time with me and that means so much! I am more likely to set the table in the kitchen than get out a cloth and set the dining room table. Everyone who comes here is family, whether by blood or not. It's all about love and not worrying about which fork to use!! LOL Love & hugs!

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  5. That's how I feel about visiting others as well; I love seeing family when we travel but despite offers to stay with them we almost always elect to get something of our own nearby so we can have that boisterous visit followed by quiet time to decompress.

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  6. I too love company. The bed is pretty cool!

    Beth
    https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/

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  7. You are definitely a lovely host. That Murphy bed was a great idea. I'm not very good at it anymore unless it's my kids. We are talking about having Mark's sister and partner out so they can meet James. They only live 5 1/2 hours away but have had several medical issues over the last few years.

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