Yesterday, my husband and I hosted a get together of his dad’s side of the family. Many of his various extended family members came by, some of which I had never met in the 12 years that we have been together. It is the first get together of his dad’s side of the family since we’ve moved into this house almost a year ago.
We began the day cleaning before people come over, of course. I’m sure you can understand wanting to present the best view of your home possible when people visit, especially people you have never met. If not, I applaud you and your secureness, but I am not like that. I found myself running around the house trying to make sure everything was in its place. I had by sons cleaning their rooms and my husband was manning the kitchen preparing various items for consumption. He is an amazing chef in my opinion.
I chose to sweep the entire house, do laundry, do dishes, febreeze the couches (we have two dogs now), and wipe down everything. I chose to clean the bathrooms and light incense and candles. I chose to clean up the back yard and mow the grass. And I chose to clean the spare room in the event someone needed a lie down. I wanted to present the best of us so that my husband could be proud of what he worked hard to produce.
His Aunt and two cousins, one of which brought two of her sons, came first to our house bringing with them some beverages and ice. The boys went out to the yard with my sons, and my husband’s aunt and cousins seated themselves at the dining table to chat with my husband. I greeted them warmly, happy to see them. I am most familiar with them. His aunt was uncomfortable with our newest family member, our puppy. So I set him up in the spare room with food, water, piddle pads, and plenty of space. As, I was leaving the room, and in an attempt to keep him in the room before he bolted out, I fell. He tried to get out before I shut the door, and in doing so, I fell straight onto my backside. That hurt. I began to black out. I called for my husband, and simply just called back. After the third time of him calling back, he came to see what was the matter. He saw me and just corralled the puppy back into the room. He asked if I needed help getting up, and I let him know that I needed a couple of minutes until the pain subsides. So I sat there in the hallway, and after a few minutes, I got back up. Pulled myself together, and went back to what I was doing.
Then some more family members came and as the dining room filled, we branched off into the living room, and then to the back deck. the temperature outside was a little chilly in the shade, but warm in the sun. While the adults were inside, I was outside with the children. My husband filtered outside once the food was ready, and as everyone got plates, I did the dishes. It is better to get ahead of messiness before it gets out of control.
This day truly allowed us to just be. We enjoyed the family and friends that gathered together with joy in our hearts. It has been a year since we moved into our home, but we had never had a gathering like this. It really felt like we have lived here much longer. And if feels like our roots are in place here. My husband, kids, and I are settled in and ready to grow in our community.
(This was written on May 30th, 2021, but was in my drafts.)
Coffee with Candee 