day 15: hosting=giving (and an update)

Full disclosure:

1. I overslept.
2. I have a somewhat overwhelming  day ahead (how about you?).
3. I’ll need to make this brief, as I’ll soon hear the stampede of little feet into my office door.

So, my gift on Day 15 was hosting a bright and shiny new book club I just joined.  While I really enjoy getting together with friends and discussing books, I will confess:  I am a terribly anxious hostess.  I’ve always wanted to be one of those women who breezily says, “Drop on by any time,” means it, and constantly has a fridge full of hors d’oeuvres to distribute to those lucky or smart enough to take her up on it.

I am not that woman.

In fact, one area where my perfectionism blazes the brightest is in entertaining.  No matter how many times I tell myself I will “just keep it simple,” invariably I ruin the experience by over-thinking it.  Again, we are talking about hosting a party, right?  Something that is, by definition, fun?

Okay, so you get where I am coming from.  I jumped at the offer to host book club both because I wanted to provide a nice evening for my new friends and because I wanted to try entertaining from a different angle (that of service) and see if it made me less of a perfectionistic madwoman.

The outcome?  We had a great time.  Because I tried to view the evening as a gift to my new friends rather than a reflection of myself, I didn’t sprint around my house with a dust cloth when I got home from work, desperate to insure my house looked perfect before they arrived.  I made this dip and this fudge (not health food, guys, but delicious and easier than breathing).   I listened to smart new friends talk about The Help and learned.

The most important thing I learned is that I do actually like entertaining, as long as I don’t let myself get in my own way.

Now for an update, in bulleted list form as I am truly buying time with my wee ones:

• I received a really nice note of thanks from Ms. Pregnant With Triplets (Day 2’s gift).  As she has just been placed on bed rest, I think she’ll appreciate the reading material even more.
• I received my “Be the Match” kit in the mail yesterday (Day 6’s gift).  I’ll complete it today and keep you posted on how that process goes.
• The “Be Awesome” poster (Day 7) reached its destination, and my awesomely awesome friend texted me a photo of it that I am to0 dumb to know how to upload here.
• I’ve had zero takers on my Day 12 offering.  If you’d like Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection after I am finished reading it, comment now or forever hold your peace.  I am giving it to someone, so it may as well be you.

And, with the background music of preschoolers rumbling down the hallway, I wish you a truly hospitable day.  Thank you for always showing up.