Growing up, my mom loved having people over.
Throughout my elementary and middle school years, my parents were in a close group of friends from church.
I’ll never forget when we first moved to my hometown, my mom and I were walking out of the building and a lady almost trapped us when walking out the door. She was friendly of course, and only wanted to invite us to the ice cream social happening at the church. As my mother’s sweet toothed child, I begged her to go.
During the gathering, I guess my mom and this lady hit it off because they became fast friends and before I knew it, we were hanging out with their family every weekend along with a few others that were already in their friend group.
Each of the families had kids around our age, so we grew up being quite close and played outside together extremely frequently. One of our favorites was flashlight tag.
We lived in a large rural neighborhood that was perfect for a game like this.
This group of friends that my parents made were comfortable and constant. I remember one of their friends in particular was an amazing cook, I can still smell some of his meals in my mind without trying too hard.
Our families did all sorts of things together. We went to festivals, church, and movies, but my favorite were the times in our family homes together.
Nothing planned that I knew of, just consistent gathering that grew a sense of community and belonging in all of us. If anyone ever moved, we were all there. If there was ever an important event, we were all there.
Although I could never have articulated it as a child, seeing this effort put into community was important for me to see while growing up. I always heard so much laughter from our parents. I remember thinking that being an adult must be fun. What a blessing to give your children.
I know for me, the imperfections in my home can discourage me from having people over. I think, “oh I haven’t organized the pantry yet, or “oh no, my son has left so many marks on that wall, people will think I’m gross.” But like, how crazy does that sound, when I write it outloud.
No one cares about that stain, or unfinished backyard project.
Let’s invite people over, frequently.
Recently we have started embracing this concept with no fancy plans. Most recently, people came over after dinner time and we had hotdogs and smores supplies if anyone wanted an after dinner snack. People hung out till about 10pm.
I couldn’t have been happier seeing our oldest run around in the backyard WAY past his bedtime, laughing with some of our sweet friends. That used to be me, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to pass on the memories.