Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Hospitality at Home

I know when I have been offline for a while… because I will have a number of blogs half composed in my head, and even more long forgotten!

But there is this one that has been nibbling at my subconscious for a while… and that is concerning hospitality at home.

Naturally you might be thinking that I mean inviting people over… and I do, just not all the time J that comes later.

Right now, I am thinking about hospitality for your family.

For starters, why should you treat a guest better than your family? You shouldn’t. In fact, you should use that as the ultimate guideline for a family… would I treat a guest this way?

If the answer is no, then you should probably not treat your family that way either. Now of course, there are some things that don’t apply; parenting issues and discipline are obviously not things you would bring up with guests… but those within the family behavioural boundaries are.

Just as we think about would I do this in my own home when we are out, we should also wonder would we do this in someone else’s home? If the answer is no, then don’t do it in yours (again, with a few personal exceptions ;))

But how do I apply hospitality to my family?

Firstly, you consider their likes and dislikes. When I put together a dinner, I try to have one of my husband’s favourite foods with it.

Similarly, I try to have at least one meal a week that each of the kids dearly love… and attempt to have a food at each meal I know they more than tolerate.

I would do it for a guest, why not my own family?

I make sure the table looks nice for them… clear it off, serve it with napkins and drinks in glasses. OK, we do use the ‘jelly jar glasses’ -as they are called over here- for the kids, but they are still glass.

And I might have to wash the napkins nightly… but they learn… my 2 year old already knows to put her napkin in her lap before eating.

These little touches can mean a great deal… and not a lot. The choice is what you intend to do that makes life special for your family, and brings hospitality home.

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