come on over

tradition is important to me, but i’ve never commemorated our nation’s independence in the same way. each year’s celebration has found me in a different location with a different group of people. i have spent the 4th of july working at summer kamp, traveling in switzerland, camping in the rockies, meeting special friends, at home with a few sparklers, cruising austin with the hubby, and on the lake with friends.

but this year was especially memorable. lee and i invited my family to spend the holiday at our house, and what could have been a standard cookout event turned into something i hope will develop into a tradition. the highlights were a multi-event pseudo-sports olympics and a perfect 360° view to dozens of first-class fireworks shows from the roof of our house. and LOTS of yummy food, of course.

what i realized this weekend is that i really love to host. i always knew i valued hospitality, because i notice the small gestures of welcome when i’m visiting others, and i like to have special things prepared when i entertain guests, even if just for a half hour stop-by: out come the good dishes, tasty treats, inviting aromas, and special bathroom items.

but until this weekend i don’t think i was aware of the joy it brings me to invite family and friends into my home and make every detail enjoyable for them. and this is aside from the happiness i find simply in their company. while i’m a very at-ease guest myself (i don’t expect anything fancy, and i certainly don’t mind finding things on my own or cleaning up after myself), as a hostess i get excited about presenting everything with that little bit of extra flair.

i think my husband has the same inclination, judging by his cheerfulness in attending to the yard and hosing and scrubbing the porch and it’s furniture for this weekend. his enthusiasm in drawing up an elaborate plan for the backyard olympics and gathering the gaming equipment was a clear tip off as well.

the thing is, we’re homebodies, but that doesn’t mean we’re hermits. we’ll socialize until the last reveler has left the party, just so long as we’re not far from the comforts of our own home. some people stress about preparing for guests, we find it more relaxing know we don’t have to worry about forgetting to bring something or the weary drive home later.

so maybe my sense of “hospitality” is really just a side effect of my preoccupation with always having food close by, or my dislike of packing unless i am traveling more than a few hundred miles. or maybe i’ve grown up a little. (i do have a milestone birthday coming up in a few months…) but whatever the cause, i look forward to many more years of opening our home to anyone who would like to come on over.