Hospitality is not a house inspection, it’s friendship, it’s family.
Struggle is real. I often run through my childhood memories to understand reactions and feelings of current experiences. For many years after Honey and I were married I was so nervous having people over. Ask Honey, I would kind of freak out if someone was going to drop off a book. He would mention someone was stopping by and I was clearing counters, checking the bathroom for cleanliness and sometimes even mopping the floor. Just so someone could stand in the front entrance and I would feel comfortable, but not comfortable at all.
What I realized is from about age 10 on, my mom and dad mostly quit inviting people into our home. More on that another time and the brokenness inside the walls of the home I grew up. I just did not learn how to welcome people into my personal space. Even having family over felt like I had to prove something and have everything perfect.
Anyway, what I learned after we starting having groups in for a get together, that it is pointless to mop the floor before everyone arrives. Sure, pull out the broom and sweep. But full on water bucket and mop might be pointless. First, no one ever comes in inspecting how clean the floor might be: instead they are wondering about where to set their purse, If they should take their shoes off, where the plug-in is for phone charging, checking out the snacks on the kitchen counter. For the record, I am kind of a neat-nick and most likely the floor is pretty clean anyway.
And then I saw my mom-in-law, sister-in-laws, family, extended family, girlfriends saying come in, come over, stop by. And I wanted to be that person.
And ALWAYS the floor needs to be mopped the next day.
