Getting Ready for a Family Visit
The last time I had family visit was 3.5 years ago when Dad and Mom and MIL and cousins came up for Thanksgiving. My brother and his family last came in 2003 (I think), again around Thanksgiving time. Since then we've mostly been gathering down in Florida with the families - which is great, but I do love having visitors staying at my house. Our old house was tiny, tiny with sloping ceilings in the upstairs bedroom and only one major bathroom. But we had visitors galore! Everyone was younger then and more willing to travel and they were also poorer and more willing to stay with us instead of going on a trip. So when we built this house, we put in a nice spare bedroom and another small bedroom - as well as a sofa bed in the family room. But now, everyone is older and can't travel as much - the kids are all busy with soccer and all that stuff and (until recently) people were taking nice trips to exotic places.
But now with Dad gone, Mom is a bit more flexible so we arranged for her to go to California to my brother for a few weeks, then to Arizona to see my sister and niece and then here. I'm meeting her in Arizona next weekend and we are coming back to Boston together. She'll be here for two weeks and during that time my brother and family will also come to stay for a week.
DH and I have gotten very settled in our ways and it will be good for us to get ruffled up a bit, but it's really hard to get ready for 5 people to be staying at your house. Over time I've taken over the small bedroom and use the closet in there as my main closet - and the room as a dressing room. I'll move everything out. I'll clean out the extra bathroom for mom, and make sure she has space in the closet and drawers for her travel clothes. As is usual in life, we've spread out to utilize all available space - we fit nicely in a tiny house and we fit nicely in a big house.
I'm really looking forward to having everyone here, if I could change one thing in my life it would be to have my family closer. Why we all scattered apart is hard to figure out sometimes, but I'm sure someone could explain it to me with alot of psychoanalysis. My sister lives in Italy...my brother in California...my mom in Florida. Many cousins stayed in NYC, and they do get together alot but it's quite a drive down for us so we don't do it as often as I'd like. I don't think we scattered to get away from each other, I think we felt strong enough and connected enough to follow our dreams to the far reaches of the world yet knew we would still stay close.
Ah well...I have much to be thankful for - all are healthy and happy and we'll all be together for a week or so. I can't wait to see them all.
But now with Dad gone, Mom is a bit more flexible so we arranged for her to go to California to my brother for a few weeks, then to Arizona to see my sister and niece and then here. I'm meeting her in Arizona next weekend and we are coming back to Boston together. She'll be here for two weeks and during that time my brother and family will also come to stay for a week.
DH and I have gotten very settled in our ways and it will be good for us to get ruffled up a bit, but it's really hard to get ready for 5 people to be staying at your house. Over time I've taken over the small bedroom and use the closet in there as my main closet - and the room as a dressing room. I'll move everything out. I'll clean out the extra bathroom for mom, and make sure she has space in the closet and drawers for her travel clothes. As is usual in life, we've spread out to utilize all available space - we fit nicely in a tiny house and we fit nicely in a big house.
I'm really looking forward to having everyone here, if I could change one thing in my life it would be to have my family closer. Why we all scattered apart is hard to figure out sometimes, but I'm sure someone could explain it to me with alot of psychoanalysis. My sister lives in Italy...my brother in California...my mom in Florida. Many cousins stayed in NYC, and they do get together alot but it's quite a drive down for us so we don't do it as often as I'd like. I don't think we scattered to get away from each other, I think we felt strong enough and connected enough to follow our dreams to the far reaches of the world yet knew we would still stay close.
Ah well...I have much to be thankful for - all are healthy and happy and we'll all be together for a week or so. I can't wait to see them all.
12 comments:
How exciting for you-it IS good to get ruffled up a bit.
The snakes have done wonders for preventing people from inviting themselves to stay over-and the ones that are welcome know there is no danger and the snakes are now in one room....LOL.
Remember to enjoy the time with your family-it's short and very precious-but you already know that.
how truly lovely, and you are such a sociable and hospitable person too.i don't enjoy people visiting any longer,my bro comes from sa next week for two weeks and although i love seeing him and having him here, i do feel unsettled...how wierd..wonder what the psychoanalysts would say about that!enjoy it dear mim.
Funny, as much as I love getting together with people I love I don't like them staying here nor do I like staying with anyone. I think it's because I've never had enough space or time to myself. I also know it's because I'm shy and very 'uptight' about using the bathroom. TMI!!!!
I hope you enjoy the whole deal Mim! I know what family means to you.
Tomorrow I'll see my oldest sister in Milford. First visit since we landed. We'll have an early (me) birthday celebration with just a few of us. I hope the sun shines just as it is today.
have a blast Mim! And yes of course we'll have art lessons in the barn. You bet!
What fun to have your house full of family. It does make one get busy and clean like a demon. I always enjoy company for that reason. We need a visit right now. tee hee... Our family is scattered too. So sad now that the Parents and Uncles are getting too old to travel.
Hope you have a wonderful time hosting! It is amazing how we always manage to fill the extra space, spend the extra money, pass the extra time...
Eight people, two dogs, two cats and an assortment of toys lived in my house this past week. My daughter, boyfriend, new granddaughter, boyfriends' son all visited every day.
I had help with the cooking and cleanup but I can tell you as much fun as I had my 60 year old body is feeling it today. The last of the visitors goes home. I will miss them. I have lots of pictures and memories.
My garden needs work and my studio has been calling my name, quietly all week.
Have a wonderful time with your family. :)Bea
I've been enamoured by your families closeness (emotionally, if not physically) since you wrote about that big house somewhere else where you found the box of old letters in the attic (I am pretty sure that was you)...you were at some family gathering and it seemed like a family out of a very good movie...doing things together, appreciating each other and the environs.
I am sure you will make your family visitors feel very welcome and comfortable. And I know you will enjoy it once the making ready is behind you and you can just sit back and enjoy each other.
enjoy!
I hope you have a very nice visit.
We are set like concrete in our ways, here, so it's an effort, but the alternative is never seeing them!
this sounds like a wonderful time for you and your Mom and other relatives. I know what you mean about being set in ones ways. and also how good it is to get ruffled up a bit. have a lovely time.
Lynn, Mim may have found a box of letters too, but I read about that blog post too and it was from the gardening person who lives in New Jersey. She also has a family house in upstate NY and it was there she found the letters. I forget what her blog name was.
I can really relate to this post. Since I grew up in AK we never saw our relatives so I was never close to grandparents, cousins or aunts and uncles. The ones who came up to visit us we got to know better, but hardly anybody will come up here. Too far and too costly. Now my husbands family is all from MO and we rarely see them for the same reasons. I have a daughter on East Coast and my son is in Japan. I'm in the middle but still don't get to see them often enough! Waaahhh!
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