Christened by Company

I spent a good chunk of Saturday and Sunday spiffing up the house in expectation of guests. Now, I know a lot of people almost have a revolving door with frequent visitors, but not so the Rucker family. Company was a big deal.


Jack and I have been married almost ten years and I am racking my brain to think of when we have had non-family guests over for general visiting and a meal. Twice, a friend of Jack's was in the area on business. Since he lived in South Dakota, he came for dinner and stayed the night. Other than that, I have had a friend over for lunch a few times, but we generally don't have a lot of company other than family, and even that is rare. We are both remarkably bad at small talk, and for years Jack had a crazy work schedule that made entertaining difficult.

We have Bell to thank for Sunday's visitors. When she found out that she would be going to a new school, one of her very few requests was that her best friend JJ get to come up and play for a day before school started. We put her off a bit, thinking we would like to get more done on the house, but it became evident that more home improvements would be delayed until fall, so I emailed JJ's mama and we made plans.

It was not a fancy affair, which is good since I dropped the squash on the ground when trying to grill it. I can only hope that our friends thought we were having an off night or they might not return. My child fought with theirs and there was crying. There was the afore mentioned squash. I know something else got dropped, though I have forgotten what. The fish we took them to catch refused to bite. It was hot. There were gnats. At times I am sure it looked like we were related to James Thurber's family. I wonder if they have ever read "The Night the Ghost Got In." However, It was not an all bad night in the least. The fighting and crying stopped and was replaced by a lot of laughing. The kids preferred to swim instead of fish anyway. There was plenty to eat that didn't end up on the ground.

Even though we are not very proficient entertainers, I envision afternoons and evenings of friends and family gathered here. Somehow, this place seems just right for bon fires, cider, and s'mores kinds of gatherings rather than white table cloth and napkin rings. The kind where people laugh irreverantly and loudly and it is not all polite and correct. I know we have a few friends from college that we would like to have out. My own family really has not had a chance to come yet. I think I can get better at hostessing. For now, it feels as if the house has been christened in a way by these friends who were invited, prepared for, and who actually came and shared a meal.