Family's coming this weekend and I'm nervous

One of the really fun things about having people stay in your home is that you can get in your pajamas at night and sit around and talk and you’ll probably have some amazing conversations.

When people go to a hotel rooms, they have to decide when that happens, and I found that it doesn’t turn out as well. Since I’ve been an adult, I’ve had people visit and stay in my home frequently. That includes family and friends.
 

We have overnight guests fairly frequently….we have Ron’s sister flying in next week as a matter of fact….and neither Ron or I do much extra prep other than making sure the guest room sheets and towels are fresh.

We’re neat and tidy, both hate clutter and mess, and we both clean, dust, and vacuum whenever we see that it needs it, so things are always more or less guest ready.

@seadoug My experience has been that there’s always a few minutes of awkwardness no matter how close everyone is, as the guest(s) get oriented, but that quickly passes. Visitors almost always notice far less about a home than the folks who live there 24/7, so even though I might know that I didn’t clean the baseboards or overlooked that smudge on the wall or forgot to dust something, visitors tend to not see the minutiae that is so obvious to me.

Hostess tip: Bake some cookies or simmer some spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg or the like) on the stove right before your guests’ arrival. Those yummy fragrances make your home feel warm and welcoming. 😉 And if it’s cookies, you also get to serve your guests a plateful fresh from the oven! What’s a better welcome than a plate of warm, fragrant cookies?🍪
 
I'm sure Doug and his guests had a wonderful time. After all Doug had something to entertain his company with that I never had -- Dallas!

I expect right now he's experiencing that old saying about guests, "You're so happy to see them come and even happier to see them go!"
 
It was the best 5 days in recent memory! They all came in on Friday and Saturday. We took them to Dallas Arboretum, The Stockyards in Ft. Worth for the cattle drive, the JFK Sixth Floor Museum and the GW Bush Library. (SIL was Madame President in the replica of the Oval Office). We took them for Mexican food, barbecue, good ole' country comfort food and Greek food. BIL's roommate wandered out to walk around the lake every morning and photographed a bald eagle yesterday! We reminisced about 34 years past and looked through pictures every night.

The weather was beautiful every day so we spent lots of time outdoors. I found out our house was comfortable, even though some were sleeping in beds, sofa beds, inflatable mattresses and the family room couch. It felt good to finally "share it" with someone else. This was the first time we've gotten together without the kids. It was so much easier rounding everyone up and heading out early.

SIL went through chemo and radiation for breast cancer almost 2 years ago, and although she is cancer-free and looks fantastic it left her with severe arthritis. We rented a wheelchair at the Dallas Arboretum to take her around. She was a trooper through all the other visits. She and her hubby are the youngest of the group. The rest of us are 60+. Hubby just turned 60 while they we were all together and I know it was his best "milestone" birthday ever!

We had such a great time showing them everything Dallas has to offer. Two left yesterday and two left today. We were relieved none of their flights were canceled and left on time. They have an open invitation to do it all over again! Here are a few pics.

GW Bush Libray.jpg

pecan lodge.jpg

Family at home.jpg
 
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