That House Between Gratitude And Longing

Matt and I hosted my household for Thanksgiving once more this yr. It was fantastic, and we had such a great day. For the second yr in a row, we opted to have a Thanksgiving brunch as an alternative of the usual turkey and dressing dinner. Fairly truthfully, all of us a lot want breakfast and brunch meals to turkey and dressing, so it really works out completely. This tater tot casserole has turn out to be a favourite for us, and this yr I made these canned cinnamon rolls with a twist that have been completely superb! However sufficient about meals. This isn’t a meals weblog. 🙂

I’ve come to completely LOVE internet hosting folks in our house. I’ve by no means been one who is of course gifted within the space of hospitality. In reality, once we first began internet hosting our Wednesday night time church group, I discovered myself in these first couple of weeks feeling a bit uptight and anxious as folks truly sat on my new velvet couch. 😀 Add a number of plates of meals in our front room to that equation, and I used to be initially feeling like I had made a mistake in opening up our house for use for these gatherings.

However it didn’t take lengthy for me to recover from that. I in a short time (after about two weeks) realized that the enjoyment of our house truly getting used and loved by others far outweighed any potential negatives like meals being dropped on the couch. Sofas may be cleaned, however even when I needed to dwell with a meals stained couch, relationships with different persons are a lot extra necessary than issues. And I really like that our house is getting used to construct these relationships and create enjoyable reminiscences.

I actually attempt to preserve that mindset of gratitude for what we have now, and thankfulness that Matt and I can use it for functions past simply the 2 of us. I actually hope to do extra of that in lots of extra methods sooner or later. Whereas hospitality isn’t my pure gifting, I’ve come to essentially get pleasure from studying learn how to be extra hospitable, and learn how to be a great hostess. I’ve bought a protracted method to go, I’m positive. However I really like that it will get me out of my consolation zone and stretches me in areas the place I must be challenged and develop.

Since Matt and I don’t have a eating room in the meanwhile, I pushed all the furnishings again in the lounge and put a folding desk (with a tablecloth) and chairs in the course of the room so we might eat. As soon as we have been completed consuming, we moved the desk to the facet by the home windows and used it to place out our finger meals that we snacked on for the remainder of the day. (After which it bought piled with containers from deliveries on Friday.) Then I introduced within the two recliners from the sitting room…

…after which I introduced the TV from our house gymnasium into the lounge and set it up on the mantel.

So my fairly little front room that usually seems all put collectively like this…

…turns into this once we host Thanksgiving.

And whereas it seems fairly a bit completely different once we host our Wednesday night group (since we don’t want a TV for that), we do have to maneuver furnishings round to make room. The couch will get pushed again in opposition to the credenza, identical to you see within the photographs above. Matt’s recliner will get introduced in. The 2 purple chairs get pushed again. The facet desk with the lamp by the couch will get moved out of the room. After which further chairs (stacking chairs) are introduced in.

All of that to say that I attempt to preserve my perspective of thankfulness for what we have now. I need to be content material with the place we’re proper now, as a result of at any second, one thing might occur to fully derail our plans for including on to our home. And if that have been to occur, I don’t need to be devastated. I don’t need to put a lot hope into issues that I might let my pleasure of internet hosting and being with folks be stolen as a result of I’ve to go on indefinitely being a little bit bit inconvenienced every time we host folks in our house.

On the identical time, I discover myself eager for that addition that may enable us to have a everlasting eating room, a a lot bigger front room, far more room for extra folks, and a a lot bigger bed room (with very secure and handy egress in case of emergency) for us.

It’s difficult residing on this in between house — the house between gratitude for what we have now and eager for extra and higher. And generally I really feel responsible once I discover myself eager for extra and higher once we’ve been so blessed and have been given a lot as is.

So the place are we on the addition? Ready. We’re nonetheless ready. After I met with the architect a few months in the past, I knew I’d should get on the finish of the road identical to everybody else, and it might be a little bit of a wait. I believe he’s lastly engaged on our plans, so it might nonetheless be a few weeks earlier than they’re completed. So…we wait.

After which after that? We’ll in all probability should get on the finish of extra traces and do an entire lot extra ready. And that brings me proper again to gratitude and contentment…and persistence. I’m attempting! I actually am. 😀 However some days are harder than others in that space. Within the meantime, I’ll proceed to seek out pleasure in internet hosting folks in our house, sharing our house with others, seeing folks sit on our couch with plates full of meals, and pushing furnishings round as wanted to make room for folks.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and beautify the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.