The Saturday morning after Christmas I opened our bedroom door, stepped into the Camp family version of Noah’s flood, and screamed. A pipe backed up and dumped my daughter’s draining bathwater out through the overflow in the laundry room and water spread into our kitchen, dining room, entry, living room, bedroom, and hallway.
The bathrooms and kids’ bedrooms are the only rooms in our home whose flooring doesn’t need replaced. We’re removing the old floors ourselves and putting the money we save toward upgrades. Our home is inside out and upside down.
Sawdust settles on surfaces and in sinuses as the circular saw roars to life and scores our damaged wood floors. My husband and kids beat pry bars onto rubber mallets and peel away the old to make way for the new.
[My daughter looking for a spot to play Monopoly.]
The perfectionist in me is losing it. Y’all, I even hid from the FedEx man. I saw him coming to the door and I didn’t want to open it since a loveseat blocks our entrance hall, so I waited until he drove away to pick up the package on my porch.
In the midst of the mess I feel a shift taking place inside me. Holding myself to such an unattainable standard that even the FedEx guy can’t see my clutter isn’t healthy. So I’m raising my hands to God, and then turning them over and dumping the false notion of perfection that hinders my hospitality.
This mess is part of my story. Our lives are made to be shared regardless of the state of our houses. Sometimes the messes are the pieces of our testimony others most need to hear.
When registration opened for (in)RL I hesitated. I’ve hosted in my home the last two years. But now?
Yes. I said yes.
Sometimes sharing your home is an act of reckless optimism.
And if our chairs are still in one room and our table in another? The loveseat in the entrance hall instead of the living room? The couches still crammed together in the corner? Well, relocating the meetup to Starbucks is always an option!
Hospitality has more to do with the state of your heart than the state of your home.
Do you want to connect with women in your area but worry about size or state of your home? Two of my favorite hostesses take small spaces and open them wide to others. I encourage you to take a chance and participate in an (in)RL meetup in your area. Have you registered to host or attend?
by Dawn Camp, My Home Sweet Home
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