"I am a dyed-in-the-wool _________."
Foodie
Control Freak
Overwhelmed Domestic
Social Butterfly
I'm not sure how I'd fill in the blank. One week I'm really good at staying healthy. Another week I'm really good at communicating with my spouse or friends. And some weeks I'm really good at apologizing a lot.
What I can say is that if you give me a small group of friends, some good food and a meaningful (but not completely burdensome) conversation... something feels right.
And being a Domesticator (it is a word, I tells ya), I'm tossed between spur of the moment playdates, an adorable but sometimes fussy infant and scraps of food that I manage to swallow between phone calls. If they had a 12 step program for "How to Sit Down and Eat a Decent Meal", I would totally go.
Point is: I'm hungry.
Hungry for meaningful friendships.
Hungry for food. Good food.
And I'm hungry for rest.
So last Thursday, a couple of us neighbor ladies were shooting the breeze outside talking with giddy anticipation about the 80 degree day that was forecasted. I threw the idea out there: "Hey ladies... let's have a potluck tomorrow. I'll bring the burgers for grilling."
In keeping with the "eating" theme, they gobbled up the idea.
One person brought buns. Another brought veggies and fruit. I brought the meat. The day was great. Kids ran outside like the crazy sunshine-starved Chicagoans that they were. We ate. We laughed. We idiomatically shot the breeze.
It was a hit. There was even talk of doing this regularly in the summer.
I'm totally digging this way of hospitality. I don't have the energy to have people over all the time while wild children run around my house. But if you give me a good backyard, food, folks and fun... I'd say this calls for a repeat.
______________________
Special thanks to Sandy of Reluctant Entertainer who encourages her readers to show hospitality in meaningful (but not overdone) ways. She's my hospitality hero.
4 comments:
Matt & I decided a few weeks ago to introduce the idea of a regular (twice a month, perhaps) neighborhood potluck dinner. There will be 5 families, which include a total of 9 (almost 10) children and 10 adults. That's a crowd, for sure. But if you do it on a day when there's plenty o' sunshine, it's totally doable.
I think it's great to have a regularly scheduled "playdate" for the kids and it really encourages community morale/fellowship. Not to mention it's super nice to be able to get together with girlfriends to talk about *whatever* and for the men to have a chance to "bond" as well.
I wish we lived closer...
Jenny (Parent) :)
This is you, Em. Definitely.
It's your cup of tea. Your pint of strawberries. Your bucket of ice cold drinks.
And, your way of hospitality is so comfortable and warm and everyone wants to come back over and over.
I heart Sandy. She's fantastic.
You are driving me crazy with your picture of fresh strawberries. My mouth is watering and will be for the next four months until that next plane comes down!
I love parties like that! Sounds like so much fun! Instead, I had dinner over with our New Zealand friends last night--good crew and some even wore shorts (indoors only). That's sort of like summer, right?
Oh backyard bbqs how I have missed you. I'm not quite the social butterfly, but I also crave good soul-feeding conversation with people who know some of your junk and aren't afraid to come over anyway. :-) I'm so glad you found a way to enjoy all the things you love.
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