Sorry I've been a little M.I.A. lately….
It's been a busy week/weekend with lots of activities and playdates and Bible study and going to friends' houses and hosting other friends and gym night with the youth….etc.etc. You know the drill. So of course my blog has suffered but I suppose that is not always a bad thing. We can't do everything, after all.
Which reminds me….let's talk about hosting.
What are some things that are important to you as a guest? And what are some things that are important to you as a hostess? I have a love/hate relationship with hosting guests as I love having friends and family over, but I hate how unorganized I feel at times in my preparations. It seems sometimes I will never achieve what I hope to achieve in opening up my home to others.
In my highest ideal, as my guests walk in the door, there would be candles burning and soft music playing. My chalkboard pieces would all have some new, freshly drawn quote or picture on them, and the lighting would be just right. The house would smell nice (because of aforementioned candles) and the food would be just coming out of the oven, fresh and hot. My girls would be neatly dressed and combed, and my husband and I would be very calmly and nonchalantly finishing up the last minute details before the doorbell rings. I would be calm and collected, everything would be in perfect readiness, and our guests could enter a peaceful haven in which their hearts, bodies, and souls could leave feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.
*cough cough* Okay, back to reality.
More often than not, I am jumping into the shower with 5.3 minutes until they are scheduled to arrive. And while we're being honest, more often than that, I'm skipping the shower. Sometimes, when the guests arrive, my children may or may not be fully clothed. The food is usually in a state of half-done, or 1/4 done, much to my dismay. The table is often not set yet. The house is usually at least mostly clean, but there will always be the inevitably forgotten door mat, last-minute toys strewn by the girls, and a few horrifying rooms that are completely un-seeable (guest bedroom, laundry room, garage, etc).
But my WORST offense is this sort of strange restlessness that strikes if I happen to get my cleaning done a day before guests arrive. Having the cleaning done early leaves me prone to whims like, "This would be a great time to try and hang those curtains and replace my picture gallery and paint some new wall art", type of whims. And so I will just spasmodically roam throughout the house, launching myself new projects and things to do that somehow seem like they MUST be completed that day, in spite of company coming later that evening. Why? Because guests coming over is always the fuel propelling me to accomplish things I would never otherwise find the motivation to do, therefore I must strike while the iron is hot and do them on that very day.
The only problem is, I am one person, and there is only so much that one person can do! This results in rarely never being able to achieve that image of an oasis of peace and tranquility for my guests to arrive to that I dream of. I am usually rushing madly up until the moment that doorbell rings, and then try in the 2.4 seconds it takes to answer the door to wipe the sheen of sweat from my brow, wrangle my hyper children and plaster a peaceful smile on my face.
Some people have achieved this whole "ideal hosting" thing. I don't know how, when or why, but they have. Maybe they were gifted by the domestic angels? Heavenly hosts of hosting? I have no idea. But whatever it was, I missed out.
I grew up with a mom who could work circles around 20 women, (and she still does) and so of course that is a lot to live up to. But she also hustled and bustled the entire time the guests were there, spending lots of time in the kitchen and wearing a back back and forth in her tireless efforts. And no offense to my lovely mother, but I just don't quite want to do that. I want to sit, converse, sip coffee, put my feet up and laugh with my guests and savor all the moments. To my credit, I often do. To my discredit, I let the dishes pile up and the table remain uncleared sometimes to do so. But my question is, can you do both?
I have a friend who, when she entertains, always has the table cleared and the dishes done and the kitchen neat as a pin by the time we all migrate to the living room to talk. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how or when she does this. Is she just back and forth often enough that it doesn't seem like she has disappeared for too long? Does she have a tiny little army of kitchen elves that pop out of the cupboards to help her? Perhaps the dishes are the dissolvable kind that just wash right down the drain with soap and hot water? We may never know.
I guess in my few years of marriage and opening my home to guests, I have learned some things about myself when it comes to hosting:
1. I may never be quite as organized as I wish/hope to be and that is ok.
2. I need to NOT let my weaknesses keep me from opening up my home.
3. Perfection is overrated.
4. Pizza is as conducive to fellowship and friendship than the fanciest of fares.
5. When presented with the choice between design or comfort, chose COMFORT.
6. An impeccably impressive home with all of the trimming is nothing without warmth.
7. My main goal of the entire evening is that my guests will be blessed.
8. Pride is an obstacle to being a good hostess.
9. If people see all of your best impressions but miss your heart, that what is the point?
10. Be yourself. Cliche, but truly the only way to be.
That's all for today, but I'd LOVE to hear….what are some things you've learned about hosting? What are some tips, tricks or tidbits that you could share with me to help me improve? Trust me, I NEED them!!!
It's been a busy week/weekend with lots of activities and playdates and Bible study and going to friends' houses and hosting other friends and gym night with the youth….etc.etc. You know the drill. So of course my blog has suffered but I suppose that is not always a bad thing. We can't do everything, after all.
Which reminds me….let's talk about hosting.
What are some things that are important to you as a guest? And what are some things that are important to you as a hostess? I have a love/hate relationship with hosting guests as I love having friends and family over, but I hate how unorganized I feel at times in my preparations. It seems sometimes I will never achieve what I hope to achieve in opening up my home to others.
In my highest ideal, as my guests walk in the door, there would be candles burning and soft music playing. My chalkboard pieces would all have some new, freshly drawn quote or picture on them, and the lighting would be just right. The house would smell nice (because of aforementioned candles) and the food would be just coming out of the oven, fresh and hot. My girls would be neatly dressed and combed, and my husband and I would be very calmly and nonchalantly finishing up the last minute details before the doorbell rings. I would be calm and collected, everything would be in perfect readiness, and our guests could enter a peaceful haven in which their hearts, bodies, and souls could leave feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.
*cough cough* Okay, back to reality.
More often than not, I am jumping into the shower with 5.3 minutes until they are scheduled to arrive. And while we're being honest, more often than that, I'm skipping the shower. Sometimes, when the guests arrive, my children may or may not be fully clothed. The food is usually in a state of half-done, or 1/4 done, much to my dismay. The table is often not set yet. The house is usually at least mostly clean, but there will always be the inevitably forgotten door mat, last-minute toys strewn by the girls, and a few horrifying rooms that are completely un-seeable (guest bedroom, laundry room, garage, etc).
But my WORST offense is this sort of strange restlessness that strikes if I happen to get my cleaning done a day before guests arrive. Having the cleaning done early leaves me prone to whims like, "This would be a great time to try and hang those curtains and replace my picture gallery and paint some new wall art", type of whims. And so I will just spasmodically roam throughout the house, launching myself new projects and things to do that somehow seem like they MUST be completed that day, in spite of company coming later that evening. Why? Because guests coming over is always the fuel propelling me to accomplish things I would never otherwise find the motivation to do, therefore I must strike while the iron is hot and do them on that very day.
The only problem is, I am one person, and there is only so much that one person can do! This results in
Some people have achieved this whole "ideal hosting" thing. I don't know how, when or why, but they have. Maybe they were gifted by the domestic angels? Heavenly hosts of hosting? I have no idea. But whatever it was, I missed out.
I grew up with a mom who could work circles around 20 women, (and she still does) and so of course that is a lot to live up to. But she also hustled and bustled the entire time the guests were there, spending lots of time in the kitchen and wearing a back back and forth in her tireless efforts. And no offense to my lovely mother, but I just don't quite want to do that. I want to sit, converse, sip coffee, put my feet up and laugh with my guests and savor all the moments. To my credit, I often do. To my discredit, I let the dishes pile up and the table remain uncleared sometimes to do so. But my question is, can you do both?
I have a friend who, when she entertains, always has the table cleared and the dishes done and the kitchen neat as a pin by the time we all migrate to the living room to talk. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how or when she does this. Is she just back and forth often enough that it doesn't seem like she has disappeared for too long? Does she have a tiny little army of kitchen elves that pop out of the cupboards to help her? Perhaps the dishes are the dissolvable kind that just wash right down the drain with soap and hot water? We may never know.
I guess in my few years of marriage and opening my home to guests, I have learned some things about myself when it comes to hosting:
1. I may never be quite as organized as I wish/hope to be and that is ok.
2. I need to NOT let my weaknesses keep me from opening up my home.
3. Perfection is overrated.
4. Pizza is as conducive to fellowship and friendship than the fanciest of fares.
5. When presented with the choice between design or comfort, chose COMFORT.
6. An impeccably impressive home with all of the trimming is nothing without warmth.
7. My main goal of the entire evening is that my guests will be blessed.
8. Pride is an obstacle to being a good hostess.
9. If people see all of your best impressions but miss your heart, that what is the point?
10. Be yourself. Cliche, but truly the only way to be.
That's all for today, but I'd LOVE to hear….what are some things you've learned about hosting? What are some tips, tricks or tidbits that you could share with me to help me improve? Trust me, I NEED them!!!
